father: Bhupendra Joshi, businessman

mother: Shanti joshi, govt employee

school: saraswati vidya mandir, rourkee

Eldest among three siblings

Love cricket since childhood, but saw only men play cricket. Thought it is
necessary to be a male to play cricket. Transformed herself, boy cut, men's
clothes,etc

Mansi was also glad about the kind of attention the women's cricket team had
received this year, even as hordes of people queued up at her house near Prince
Chowk to catch a glimpse of her.

I was seven when I saw Sachin play cricket on TV and I started playing on the
street with the boys from the neighbourhood. Around 7 years ago, I was selected in
the Haryana team where I am the opening batsman. It was a great moment when I made
the cut to the Indian team last year

right-arm medium-fast bowler

played atheltics-shot put,100 metres

Joshi was born in a small village named Brahmakhal in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.

It's hard to recall when exactly she got hooked to cricket, having grown up in
various corners of the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh due to the transferable nature of
her mother's job.

Like any other eight-nine-year-old playing with her uncles and cousins on the
streets of Tehri - her first memory of picking up the sport - Joshi started off
naturally as a bowler. "That's what the brothers would ask me to do," she chuckles.
"But I would just throw the ball then. When I went to the academy, I learnt the art
of bowling. I wanted to bat too, but I didn't know technique at all," adds Joshi
who idolises Sachin Tendulkar and admires Dale Steyn for his aggression.

In school Mansi was liked by all because of her good-natured and her involvement in
sports and athletics, earning medals for the school in the process. Her parents
would often get good feedback about her from her teacher at school. Mansi decided
to follow cricket again leaving aside involvement in athletics.

The choice to make cricket a profession was hers alone and family's support was
never an issue. "My dad's friend took me to the first academy in Roorkee. He got a
bat and leg guards for me." Joshi started formal practice at the age of 14, under
the guidance of Jitendar Bariyal. She was only woman to be trained by the coach,
others men

"At 17 (Jitender) sir took me to Yamunanagar in Haryana, for district (tournament)

on his own expense and I got selected for the state team same year in Ranji Trophy
as a pacer. I played Under-19 and senior the same year." The state debut also meant
Joshi had to forgo the 10th standard board exams but she has little regrets. "I did
10th and 12th private (through correspondence)," she states nonchalantly.
"Thankfully my family has been very supportive; they never said anything.""Frankly,
I couldn't practice that well in Roorkee also because Jitender sir was a school PTI
and he had a lot more on his plate than just cricket coaching.
---video

only girl between boys playing cricket

always had short hair and was pretty open minded and wore boyz clothes since
childhood
Mansi wanted to get back to cricket leaving aside her athletics and talked to the
school coach about it for a seven-day class
joined a cricket Academy in Roorkee and played for two years there
at 17, the coach took her to Haryana for a cricket trial when she got selected as a
pacer
same year she played under-19 and senior state side in Ranji
but not happy playing in Roorkee since most of the boys at the nets were studious
and coach was not able to spend time on her
ground was 7 to 8 km far, difficult to travel with less developed transportation
facilities
her skills were not getting fully exploited at Roorkee

In 2013, came to Roorkee to play practice match at St Joseph Academy along with a
friend. Rautela noticed her and asked her to join him for coaching. Asked mother to
take a transfer to Dehradun but she could not get it. Mansi stayed with aunt who
took good care of her diet.Training was difficult but Mansi always wanted to your
best to cricket. She carried on.

With the benefit of hindsight, Joshi admits she that will help to tackle the
difference for example it could cost have a lot of support from the hotel and in
support wasted precious years in Roorkee. The understanding that she needs to have
a more professional approach to realise her long-term goal of playing for India
came as she rose through the ranks and found competition only getting tougher at
every step of the ladder. Fortunately, that coincided with her mother's transfer to
Dehradun, where as an Under-19 cricketer, her capabilities were spotted by her
current coach Virender Singh Rautela. "I must have made some 20-odd only in that
match but I guess he spotted the talent that I could bat. He then offered me to
move to Dehradun." Joshi has been practicing for the past three years under the
former club cricketer at the St. Joseph's School Academy at Rajpura road.

"When I played under-19, I was a kid and there wasn't any one as such who could
guide properly. But for the last three years I have been very determined to make
India debut. I left all aside - friends, studies, everything. And my game has seen
a lot of improvement. I was just a bowler three years ago, now I am an all-rounder
- an opening batsman and an opening bowler as well. My game saw massive improvement
in Dehradun. (In) Roorkee, I admit, I wasted some time; I was a little immature.
But since coming to Dehradun, cricket has been my sole focus." Rautela honed the
batsman in Joshi.

-----------------

Having shifted based, coaching and her approach towards the game, just as it seemed
Joshi had it all sorted, a hamstring injury forced her out mid-season in 2014-15.
The dream to break through seemed fading away. "That pinched me a lot. Then I
started paying a lot more attention on my fitness, found out what the shortcomings
were. I paid more attention to my diet, what to eat and what to avoid. That year
was quite frustrating.

Her domestic cricket is played for Haryana.[2] Joshi received her first call-up to
the national team when she was named in India's squad for the Twenty20
International (T20I) component of a November 2016 series against the West Indies.

T20I debut November 2016 , playing against Bangladesh in the 2016 Women's Twenty20
Asia Cup in Thailand

She took 1/8 on debut, and in the next game took 2/8 against Thailand and was named
player of the match (although that game did not have T20I status).[5]

She made her Women's One Day International cricket (WODI) debut against Ireland in
the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier on 10 February 2017.

ODI debut 10 February 2017 v Ireland

T20I debut 26 November 2016 v Bangladesh

Born in Roorkee but now living in Dehradun, Joshi plays her domestic cricket for
Haryana. Her bowling action is an aesthete�s pleasure. A strong run up, hang time
that makes the photographers' job easy, a classical side-on gather, and good arm
speed, all make for good viewing. Add to that a strong frame and height that inches
towards six feet, and you have the archetypical fast bowler.

Her stock delivery is the outswinger, which makes her the perfect complement to
Goswami�s seamers and Pandey�s inswingers. And she has pace; no dibbly dobbly
bowler this.

If there is one person Joshi admires more than Kishore Kumar, it is Sachin
Tendulkar.

Joshi was not a part of India�s ODI plans as they picked the team for the Women�s
World Cup Qualifiers in January this year. A late injury to Goswami and rookie
pacer Sukanya Parida meant that Joshi found herself in line to make her ODI debut,
just two months after earning her first T20I cap. While her debut match was a quiet
one, she picked up three wickets against Bangladesh in her next game.

Mansi cannot forget what he has done for me since she started training under
Vrinder Rautela. He has never charged a single rupee from her.

He helped Mansi with finance, special leather balls used by women cricketers, bats
and other things

Rautela, who trains the 23-year-old Mansi at St Joseph�s Cricket Academy

Mansi shifted base to Haryana in 2010, as Dehradun did not have a women�s team.
Someone who swings the ball both ways, Mansi has a great build and is touted to be
India�s next striking fast bowler.

First one-day against Ireland 2017

he promise she showed and the impressions she left in the 2015-16 domestic season
and the senior camp that fol lowed earned her the maiden call-up for the T20I home
series against West Indies.

admires Dale Steyn for his aggression.

It hasn't been the lack of talent or consistency, or injuries that has kept Joshi
on the sidelines thus far. Her opportunities have been limited due to the presence
of the seasoned duo of Goswami and Pandey.