I aim to take more wickets: Parunika Sisodia, DPL’s costliest woman cricketer

Left-arm spinner Parunika Sisodia, the costliest buy at the recent Delhi Premier League T20 (DPL) auction, has set clear goals for the upcoming edition — take a bagful of wickets for both her DPL franchise and Delhi and help her teams win titles. Parunika, who represented Central Delhi Queens (CDQ) in the 2025 season, was picked up for Rs 14 lakh by East Delhi Riders (EDR) and appointed captain as well.

“For the DPL, my personal goal would be to take many wickets for my franchise, as I haven’t taken a lot in the league, be better at fielding, and take more responsibility for the team. The main goal would be to make my team win matches and reach the DPL final,” 20-year-old Parunika told Patriot in an exclusive interview.

On the other hand, Delhi has faltered several times in recent years in the national tournaments. Parunika, an under-19 World Cup winner, wants to set that right in the domestic season starting in August.

“In the recent past, we have lost so many times in quarterfinals and semifinals, be it the under-23 or the senior tournaments. Most of the time, it happened because we couldn’t take wickets at the right time,” she pointed out.

“That is an area I have worked on in the off-season — how to get those tricky and set batters out and make my team win. After winning the Senior One-day Trophy (Elite) last year for Delhi, I would like to do that in the under-23 tournament this season. I have been playing in all the categories for a long time, so it is high time that I made my team win a title,” she said.

Auction and exams

The DPL auction on July 1 clashed with Parunika’s graduation first-year exams. While her family watched the men’s auction from 9 am, she prepared for her paper in the same room, facing the other way.

“I was not very interested [in the men’s auction] as I had an online paper to write that night. Later that evening, when they started making happy faces, I realised, ‘Oh, I am getting the highest bid.’ I did watch it in bits after the bid for me crossed Rs 10 lakh. I had to write the paper at 9 pm, and by that time, the bidding for me was over.”

Was Parunika or her family expecting that kind of money?

“No, I was not. When the bid reached Rs 5 lakh, one of my friends texted, asking me if they would bid big for me. I said probably they would go till Rs 7 lakh. It would be good, because last season I got Rs 8.25 lakh from CDQ. But that I would get the highest bid was unexpected for all of us,” she admitted.

One reason for Parunika’s surprise was her modest bowling performance in the previous DPL, though she fared better with the bat. Released by CDQ, she was still named among the eight marquee players for the auction and was snapped up by EDR.

“But the only problem with me is that I am still learning the names of some people because I have never met them before. Other than that, I’ve bonded well with the coaches. Our coach, Latika Sangwan ma’am, has been my coach with different teams. That’s the easy part,” she said.

Parunika is currently undergoing a camp that the BCCI has organised for the top 25 performers of the last domestic season. She played a prominent part in Delhi winning the Inter-State One-Day Tournament title in 2025-26. She captured three wickets in the final against Railways and ended the tournament with 11 wickets in nine matches — a performance that brought her into sharp focus.

She was a member of the under-19 T20 World Cup-winning team last year, finishing the tournament as fourth-highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets in six matches. In 2024, she was also part of the Indian team that won the under-19 T20 Asia Cup.

Apart from fetching the highest bid at the auction, another thing that surprised Parunika was winning the Striker of the Season award at the 2025 DPL. “That was the most shocking part for everybody in the family. It was a very unexpected award.”

In four matches, Parunika scored 42 runs at a strike rate of 155.55, outperforming expectations with the bat despite being a specialist bowler.