Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Shreyanka Patil reveals her challenging 14-month injury phase, sharing how shin splints, wrist and thumb fractures tested her mentally and physically, and how support, conversations, and mindset helped her make a strong comeback to competitive cricket

Hyderabad: Shreyanka Patil of Royal Challengers Bengaluru said the phase when she was injury-hit wasn’t, and that she thought it was just one injury and I’d be back in a few months.

“ But it was shin splints, again shin splints, then a wrist fracture and then a thumb fracture, one after another. I kept asking myself, ‘What is happening to me? On the outside, I told myself I was fine. But deep down, I wasn’t,” Shreyanka said in an RCB podcast.

“I’m usually bubbly and extroverted, but my life became rehab, home and sitting alone in a dark room. I had never seen myself like that before. Those 12 to 14 months were incredibly tough. I’m glad I’m speaking about it now. If someone else is going through something similar, I want them to know that if I hadn’t held on, I wouldn’t be here today,” she said.

Speaking about what helped her come back stronger, she said that honest conversations and gaining the right perspective made a big difference.

“I genuinely don’t know how I came out of it. Even today, my parents ask me that. But one day I just told myself what has happened is not in my control. What is in my control is how I approach my rehab and my mindset.

“When I started talking to others, I realised I wasn’t alone. I spoke to Sai Sudarshan, Riyan (Riyan Parag), Mayank Yadav, Aman (Aman Khan), and Asha (Asha Sobhana). We shared experiences and asked each other how we were feeling. That made me calmer,” Shreyanka said.

“Even spending time with players at the Centre of Excellence helped. I approached Jasprit Bumrah and asked if I could get 10 minutes of his time. He was so welcoming. We ended up having a long conversation about bowling and about dealing with tough phases. He told me it’s okay to be in this space and that I’ll learn from it. That meant a lot,” she said.

“I had so many doubts about whether I would be retained (by RCB). Playing for RCB is a dream for me. I couldn’t imagine wearing another jersey. I even thought about the auction, what if I go unsold? So many thoughts were running through my head,” Shreyanka said.

“Then Malo sir (Malolan Rangarajan) called and said, ‘You’ve been retained, Patil.’ I was blank. I just said thank you. After cutting the call, I video-called Arjun sir and started crying. That’s when it hit me. It was a huge boost of confidence. From that day, something changed in me. I was counting down to WPL. I told myself, no matter what, I won’t miss this one.”

Speaking about her return to competitive cricket and winning overseas after nearly 14 months out, Shreyanka said

“My first tournament after almost a year was special. I was just grateful to be back on the field. Every time I stepped onto the grass, I felt that energy again. Even though I didn’t perform exactly how I wanted with the ball, lifting that trophy gave me motivation. In the final, I got a chance to bat and hit two boundaries off my first two balls. Moments like that remind you why you love this game.”

“I was so happy watching the girls win the World Cup (which she missed). It was a dream for all of us. But when I saw the celebrations and the selfies with the medal, I went to my room and cried. Not because we won but because I missed being part of it,” Shreyanka said.