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Samaira Dharnidharka (born 27 February 2007) is a women's cricketer who plays for United Arab Emirates national women's cricket team. She represented UAE in the 2022 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier. She is the fastest bowler in UAE women's cricket.

In November 2021, she achieved her career-best bowling figures, with a spell of 4/5 against Nepal in the 2021 Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.

Personal life

Dharnidharka's father inspired her to play cricket. She began playing cricket from the age of five. She has two sisters, one a twin and the other older to her. She along with her twin sister played cricket together, but the twin sister stopped playing later due to pursuing other interests. She idolizes Jhulan Goswami and Nat Sciver.

Dharnidharka studied at The Winchester School, Jebel Ali at Dubai. She said that she is considering a career in medicine, and her end goal is to represent her home country India.

Career

Dharnidharka made her Women's Twenty20 International debut at the age of 11, against Thailand on 18 January 2019. She was the youngest international cricketer at the time of her debut, and currently the fifth-youngest. She was presented her debut cap by Chamani Seneviratne. On 28 November 2021, she achieved her maiden T20I four-wicket haul, bowling with figures of 4/5 against Nepal in the 2021 Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier. At 14 years 274 days, she was then the second youngest bowler to take a four-wicket haul in Women's T20I cricket, after Bangladeshi cricketer Rabeya Khan in 2019. She was granted time off from her Year 10 studies to take part in this tournament.

In 2022, she took part in the first ever Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier as well as the first ever Women's Asia Cup for United Arab Emirates. In January 2023, she took part in the inaugural ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup held in South Africa. She took a hattrick in the warm-up game against the USA U-19 Women’s team, summing it to a maiden and four wickets in the over. She won Player of the Match in UAE's first game of the tournament, by scoring 23 and bowling with figures of 2/22 against Scotland. She scored 62 runs and took six wickets in the tournament.

References

1. "Samaira Dharnidharka profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
2. "All squads for Women's T20 Asia Cup 2022". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
3. "Women's cricket in pink of health as UAE youth shine in T10 showdown". Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via PressReader.
4. "Bowling records | Women's Twenty20 Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
5. Radley, Paul (6 April 2021). "Future looks bright for UAE women's cricket after youngsters shine in T10 showdown". The National. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
6. ^ Ballal, Juili (21 December 2021). "Interview: 14 Year Old Samaira Dharnidharka guides UAE to Global World Cup Qualifiers". Female Cricket. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
7. "Batting records | Women's Twenty20 Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
8. "Bowling records | Women's Twenty20 Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
9. Radley, Paul (6 April 2021). "Future looks bright for UAE women's cricket after youngsters shine in T10 showdown". The National. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
10. Sportstar, Team (13 January 2023). "U-19 Women's T20 World Cup: Full squad list of all teams". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
11. "India Women U19 vs UAE Women U19 T20 World Cup Live Streaming: When and Where to watch online and on TV". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
12. "Full Scorecard of SCO-WMN U19 vs UAE-WMN U19 2nd Match, Group D 2022/23 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2023.

• 2007 births
• Living people
• Cricketers from Dubai
• Emirati women cricketers
• United Arab Emirates women Twenty20 International cricketers
• Indian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates