Sylhet: Keralite Asha Sobhana became the oldest Indian woman to make Twenty20 International (T20I) debut during the fourth T20I against Bangladesh here on Monday at 33 years and 51 days.
The Thiruvananthapuram native also became the third Keralite after Minnu Mani and S Sajana to appear in a women's T20I. Asha received her cap from Smriti Mandhana.
Sajana had made her debut against Bangladesh in the first match of the ongoing series. Both Sajana and Asha found a place in the playing XI for the fourth match.
The leg-spinner returned figures of 2/18 from her three overs as India won the rain-interrupted match by 56 runs via DLS method to take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
Rahul Dravid is the oldest to make T20I debut for India. Dravid was 38 years and 232 days old when he played against England in 2011. Next in the list is batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who was 33 years and 221 days old when he took the field in India's maiden T20I against South Africa in 2006.
Asha, who has represented Kerala and Railways before, now plays for Puducherry.
Asha impressed in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL). Asha was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team that emerged champions. She had bagged a fifer during the season, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat in the WPL.
