Your childhood dream coming true doesn’t always happen, but it did for me: Amelia Kerr Premium

Amelia Kerr's rise to cricket stardom, from winning the T20 World Cup to being named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year.

Childhood dreams see the light of day only for a handful. For Amelia Kerr, they did in October 2024 as part of a New Zealand team that won the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time. Moreover, the 24-year-old played chief protagonist, winning the Player of the Final and the Player of the Tournament awards.

Besides finishing as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps in six matches with her leg-breaks and googlies, she also contributed 135 runs at No. 3. The icing on the cake for the ace all-rounder, who made her debut for the White Ferns as a 16-year-old, came in January when she was adjudged the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

In an interaction with The Hindu during the Lucknow leg of the Women’s Premier League, Kerr spoke about New Zealand’s triumph, her feats in the game and her experience in the WPL. Excerpts:

You have been a part of Mumbai Indians for all three seasons. How do you think the WPL has grown?

In the last three years, I have seen so much development. Firstly, within the squads I have been involved in, but in the standard of games also. Each year, there is also a local player or two who emerges and performs really well. The growth of the tournament and the cricket has been awesome to see.

What needs to happen for the league to grow further?

With five teams, the standard is actually really good. In the future, they may potentially add one more team. But yeah, the ball-striking has been so impressive. There is always work to be done for most teams on fielding. That is a real controllable. Often, teams that win competitions are the best fielding units. So, there is always room to grow, but I think it is in a really good place.