From IAF Squadron Leader To International Cricketer: The Amazing Tale Of Telangana Girl Shikha Pandey

In 2011, Shikha Pandey joined the IAF and in 2012, was posted as an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and later rose to the rank of Squadron Leader.

“You will achieve your dreams if you want it bad enough”, so goes an old adage, and Shikha Pandey’s journey from an Indian Air Force Squadron Leader to making it into the Indian women’s cricket team embodies it perfectly.

Who is Shikha Pandey?

Shikha Subas Pandey was born on May 12, 1989 in Ramagundam, a sleepy little town, then part of Andhra Pradesh before Telangana had been carved out. From her early teens, Shikha was seen as something of a cricketing prodigy and at 15 years of age, became the first player to represent her state at national level.

Shikha was also studious and showcased her academic prowess by emerging as one of the toppers in Class 10 CBSE board exams. After acing the CBSE exams, even though Shikha decided to focus on her studies and pursue an engineering degree, cricket remained her first love and and she returned to the game while pursuing her degree from the Goa College of Engineering.

Reminiscing her college days, Shikha says she used to attend college during the day and hit the nets in the evening to sharpen her cricketing skills.

After college, Shikha turned down multiple high-paying job offers from reputed multinational companies (MNCs) and instead decided to focus on cricket as her desire of representing India at the international stage rekindled.

Squadron Leader To Cricketer

In 2011, Shikha Pandey joined the IAF and in 2012, was posted as an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and later rose to the rank of Squadron Leader. However, cricket always remained Shikha’s true calling and in 2014 all the stars aligned in the right configuration and she was finally picked for the Indian Women’s cricket team, becoming the only cricketer from Goa to be slotted into the national side since Dilip Sardesai.

A stellar middle-order batter who also bowls useful right-arm medium pace, Shikha made her Test, ODI and T20 debut in the same year and was part of the Indian side for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. At that time, Shikha had risen to the rank of Squadron Leader in the IAF.

Besides the national side, Shikha has also represented Goa Women, India Green Women, Velocity and more recently, Delhi Capitals—in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League or WPL.