Chandigarh, May 3 -- In the corridors of the Leaders in Cricket Academy in Sector 26, Deepinder Chabra still recalls a quiet but determined nine-year-old walking in with her brother, clutching a dream far bigger than her years - to play for India.

Seventeen years later, that dream has found its moment.

Chandigarh's Nandani Sharma, now 24, has earned her maiden call-up to the Indian women's cricket team - a defining milestone in a journey shaped by patience, setbacks, and relentless belief. The occasion is even more special: she has been named in India's T20I squad for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England next month.

"She always had the talent to play for India much earlier," says Chabra, her early mentor. "It was the Women...