In Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district—known as the nursery of girls’ cricket—15-year-old Aashi Soni is fighting all odds to become a cricketer. Daughter of a truck driver, Aashi travels nearly 100 km daily from Jaysinghnagar to Shahdol for training. Carrying her kit bag, she reaches the bus stop every day determined to learn something new. For the past two and a half years, she has been making this 45–50 km one-way journey by bus and auto, spending almost three hours on travel alone.
The daily commute costs her around ₹200, including ₹140 for bus fare and ₹40 for auto. Despite the financial strain, Aashi remains dedicated because she dreams of playing for India one day. Depending on the session, she leaves home either at 7 AM to return by 3–4 PM, or at 1:30 PM and reaches home around 9 PM.
Aashi fell in love with cricket at her college ground in Jaysinghnagar, where sports teacher Dilip Shukla and coach Prem Shankar Mali introduced her to the game. Noticing her skills, she was sent for trials in Shahdol, where coach Sonu Robinso
