After Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Indian cricket unearthed another young prospect on Wednesday – Kandikuppa Kashvi, also known as Uma Kashvi. The Karnataka all-rounder became the youngest player to be sold at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, at the age of 15.
Bought at her base price of ₹10 lakh by Delhi Capitals, Kashvi, at 15 years and 202 days, is the youngest player bought at a WPL auction, surpassing Deeya Yadav, who was 16 years old when she was bought at last year’s auction. While made it to the Indian senior team at 16, following two eye-catching seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kashvi might follow the suit, if provided with consistent opportunities.
A right-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, Kashvi has represented came through the Karnataka’s age-group ranks and had also represented India U-19 in a series against Sri Lanka U-19 in 2026, gaining valuable exposure to the international junior circuit at an early stage of her career.
Born on April 9, 2011 in Karnataka’s Bellandur, seven days after the Indian men’s cricket team, under the leadership of , lifted the 2011 ODI World Cup in Mumbai, Kashvi’s tryst with the game started at the age of seven and half years at an academy near her home.
Kashvi’s potential came to limelight when the youngster smashed an unbeaten 217 in a junior club-level inter-school tournament in Bengaluru at the age of just 12. But before that, Kashvi had the opportunity to run shoulders with India internationals Veda Krishnamurthy, , and at the India Nippon Cup.
Kashvi was just nine years old then. She has led the Karnataka’s U-15 team and also captained Bengaluru Blasters in the Maharani Trophy, Karnataka’s women’s T20 competition. In the 2025 tournament, Kashvi scored 48 off 42 balls against Mysore Warriors, thus gaining valuable experience against the senior domestic players.
Kashvi was also a part of the Karnataka side that reached the semifinals of the Women’s Under-19 One-Day Trophy 2025-26. Against Sri Lanka U-19 women, Kashvi picked up four wickets in three unofficial T20 matches and two wickets in two unofficial one-day games.
Besides her spin bowling, Kashvi is a hand batter too. Her exploits at the 2025-26 Women’s Under-15 One-Day Trophy is an example. with 516 runs at an average of 172, Kashvi finished as the leading run-scorer, registering three hundreds and a half-century.
One of the highlights for Kashvi during the 2025-26 Women’s Under-15 One-Day Trophy came against Manipur, where the right-hander smashed an unbeaten 158 off just 66 balls, studded with 23 fours and seven sixes. It was Kashvi’s hundred that helped Karnataka post 321/5 in 35 overs at the Aditya Academy Ground in Kolkata, in a winning cause.
With the ball, Kashvi had performed too. In the Women’s U19 T20 Trophy quarterfinal against Vidarbha, she picked up 3/18 in her four overs before contributing with 11 off 13 balls as Karnataka defended 140/7. She also won the Player of the Match award.
Delhi Capitals head coach Jonathan Batty credited the franchise’s scouting network for tracking Kashvi’s progress and emphasised that her signing was a long-term investment in her development.
“She has been on our radar for a little while. Our scouts have watched her play extensively and shared some incredible feedback, and I have seen her play as well. We believe she could become an absolute superstar in the future,” said Batty. At 15, she is very much a work in progress, and we are not expecting her to be the finished article just yet.
“This is a long-term project for It is a wonderful opportunity for her to be part of this setup, learn from our top coaches and work alongside international stars. Hopefully, she will learn a huge amount from the players around her. We’re excited to see her progress,” Batty continued.
