Biography

A technically sound top-order batter and a competent wicketkeeper, Yastika Bhatia got her maiden India call-up in 2021 when she was selected for the limited-overs series against South Africa. Despite being benched the whole series, she was omitted from the following series. Instead of frowning, she took that as an opportunity to hone her skills. Yastika started additional training under former Indian wicketkeeper - Kiran More. Not only did she receive wicketkeeping lessons, she was also able to work on her batting by facing first-class players - including the Pandya brothers - at the Reliance Cricket Ground, the home of Baroda men's Ranji team.

When India toured Australia towards the latter half of 2021, Yastika made her debut in all three formats. She notched up her maiden ODI half-ton in her third outing and her knock helped India record their highest successful ODI run-chase. In the 2022 Women's World Cup, Yastika was suddenly forced to open the innings for three matches before she went back to his favourite position - No. 3 - where she scored back-to-back fifties.

The rise of Richa Ghosh - especially in the shorter formats - and injuries haven't helped her cause. While she has failed to make an impact in the T20Is, Yastika has scored 200+ runs at the top of the order in the first two editions of the WPL for Mumbai Indians.