Mahika Gaur Wiki, Height, Age, Family, Biography & More

Mahika Gaur is an English cricketer who plays for Cumbria, North West Thunder, Manchester Originals, and the England cricket team. She is a bowling allrounder. She has represented two countries in international cricket. Gaur played for the United Arab Emirates women’s national cricket team between 2019 and 2022. A prodigy, she made her T20I debut for UAE at the age of 12 against Indonesia.

Wiki/Biography

Mahika Gaur was born on Thursday, 9 March 2006 (age 17 years; as of 2023) in Reading, Berkshire, England. Her zodiac sign is Pisces. Gaur developed a passion for cricket when she was just six years old. It all started when Gaur went to watch an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals in Jaipur with her family. Talking about the same in an interview, she said,

I do not remember much of the match but when we got back to England I would try to bowl like them in the garden and I joined a club nearby.”

She was eight when she moved to Dubai, UAE, where she joined the International Cricket Council Academy to pursue her dream of becoming a cricketer. Gaur was a student of Dubai College when she caught the attention of coaches of North West Thunder during a Lancashire Cricket training session alongside Emirates at the Dubai Expo 2020. She was bowling in the Nets when Warren Hegg spotted her and randomly asked if she could play in England. Thereafter, Gaur returned to the UK  and took a full scholarship at Sedbergh School. She became the first female player to represent Sedbergh’s First XI.

Physical Appearance

^[1]The Daily Telegraph Height: 6′ 2″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Not much is known about her parents and siblings. Her family has roots in Rajasthan, India. ^[2]Hindustan Times

Career

Domestic

In English domestic women’s cricket, she represents North West Thunder. On 23 July 2022, in a match against the Northern Diamonds, she took 3/25 for the North West Thunder. Thereafter, she was named to Thunder’s full squad for the 2023 season. During the 2023 season, she made her regional senior debut for Thunder against Western Storm in Cardiff. She gave an impressive performance, claiming 3-39, but Thunder lost the match.

In 2023, Gaur was named to the England A squad to face Australia A. She played for Cumbria in the 2023 Women’s Twenty20 Cup. In June 2023, it was announced that Gaur had secured a part-time professional contract with Thunder, extending through the end of the 2024 season.

International

United Arab Emirates Women

On 12 January 2019, at the age of 12, she played a match against Thailand A. During her initial two international matches, Mahika didn’t have the opportunity to bowl a single delivery. However, in her third match, she finally got a chance to bowl and successfully took one wicket. On 19 January 2019, she made her T20I debut for UAE against Indonesia during the 2019 Thailand Women’s T20 Smash at Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok; UAE Women won by 9 wickets. Eventually, she played for the UAE at the 2019 ICC Women’s Qualifier Asia, the 2021 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, and the 2022 GCC Women’s Gulf Cup. She was also named to UAE’s squad for Hong Kong women’s tour of UAE in 2021–22. During the 2022 ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup Asia qualifiers, Gaur delivered an impressive performance, claiming 5 wickets for just 2 runs in four overs, bowling Nepal out for just eight in their second match in Malaysia. She was named Player of the Match.

During the tournament, Mahika also produced a four-wicket haul, including a hat trick, in a match against Malaysia and became Player of the Match. UAE won the tournament while Gaur emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets at an average of 2.36.

She was UAE’s leading wicket-taker with six wickets at an average of 19.83 at the 2022 Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup. In December 2022, Gaur was named to UAE’s squad for the 2023 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. She scored 79 runs and took two wickets in the tournament. She played a total of 19 T20Is for the UAE.

England Women

In June 2023, Gaur was named to England A’s squad for the T20 fixtures against Australia Women A. In August 2023, she was named to England’s squad for the side’s series against Sri Lanka. On 9 September 2023, she made her ODI debut for England against Sri Lanka at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street; England won by 7 wickets. Gaur picked up three wickets in the match, including the wicket of Chamari Athapaththu. She won the title of Player of the Match finishing with the figures 6.2-0-26-3.

The Hundred

Gaur played for Manchester Originals for the 2022 season of The Hundred.

2023 FairBreak Invitational T20 USA

She played for Team Spirit in the 2023 FairBreak Invitational T20 USA. She earned the title of Player of the Match in a match against Barmy Army during the tournament.

Facts/Trivia

• In an interview, she said that she acquired her fondness for cricket from her father who used to play the sport for his university and is 6 feet 4 inches tall. Like Gaur, he was also a left-arm pacer.

• She is a left-arm fast-medium bowler and right-hand batter.

• She idolises Mitchell Starc and MS Dhoni.

• At 16, Mahika Gaur became one of the youngest players to compete in the history of The Hundred. English cricketer Davina Perrin, who was signed for Birmingham Phoenix in the 2022 season of The Hundred, became the youngest player in the competition at 15 years old. During the 2021 season of The Hundred, 16-year-old Alice Capsey stole the show representing Oval Invincibles.

• Her jersey number for England Women is #68. Her jersey number for UAE Women was #39.

• She is the third Indian-origin bowler to get selected for the England women’s cricket team. The first India-origin bowler to have played for England was Sonia Odedra and the second was Isa Guha. ^[3]Hindustan Times