After spending almost six months recuperating from a shoulder injury, Jaya Sharma finds herself on the move once again, and the senior batswoman is enjoying every bit of it. The 28-year-old opener made the list of 30 probables for the World Twenty20 Championship to be played in England in June and was practically living out of her suitcase with frequent trips to the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore, in a bid to prove her fitness.

“It’s huge relief. I have been declared fit for the selection,” says Sharma, talking to Sportline from Neemrana in Rajasthan — another trip, though aimed at beating travel fatigue this time.

To be sure, she badly needs to replenish her batteries, for proving the fitness is only a job half done. “I’ll be attending trial-cum-practice matches, beginning from April 20 in Mumbai, upon which the final squad will be picked,” she says.

Bad timing
The timing of her injury couldn’t have been worse as she missed out on the ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia last month. “I didn’t get time to prove my fitness. I could’ve made the World Cup in March, but the selection committee had to announce the team well in advance. I was very disappointed. That was the darkest phase of my career,” Jaya says.

While she was out, the Indian team shrugged off their poor form and put up an impressive show Down Under to finish third. With veteran Anjum Chopra and young Anagha Deshpande doing well up the order, it will be anything but easy for Jaya to reclaim the spot. But she remains positive, and for good reasons.

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