At simply 15 years previous, Fanny Utagushimaninde is already etching her title into the historical past of ladies’s cricket.
The Rwandan batting sensation introduced herself on the worldwide stage through the Nigeria Invitational Ladies’s T20I Match in March 2026, producing a record-breaking innings that instantly drew consideration throughout the cricket world.
Dealing with Ghana in Lagos, Fanny smashed an unbeaten 111 off 65 balls, turning into the primary lady to attain a century on T20I debut. At 15 years and 223 days, she additionally turned the youngest participant in girls’s T20I historical past to succeed in 100.
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It was greater than a private milestone — it was a press release for Rwandan girls’s cricket.
“It feels very, very superb,” she advised Occasions Sport. “I’m proud to make historical past and contribute to Rwanda girls’s cricket in a optimistic means.”
A expertise formed by ardour
Utagushimaninde’s cricket journey started on the age of 9, impressed by her household and rising curiosity for the sport.
“My brothers have been already all in favour of cricket and seeing them play impressed me to start out too,” she stated. “What pushes me to observe is my ardour for the sport and the dream of representing Rwanda at the next stage.”
That keenness is already translating into robust numbers. In simply 11 T20Is, she has scored 227 runs, with a highest rating of 111 not out, averaging 25.22 and placing at over 112 — figures that spotlight each expertise and composure on the crease.
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Calm beneath strain
Behind the rise, {the teenager} admits the journey has not been with out challenges.
“Sure, after all, balancing research and coaching on the similar time, lack of sufficient tools and different points have been powerful,” she stated.
Nonetheless, her on-field maturity continues to face out.
“I attempt to keep targeted, belief my expertise and hold believing in myself. I remind myself to remain calm and play one ball at a time.”
Throughout her historic innings, she stated perception actually kicked in after reaching her half-century.
“After I handed 50 runs and was nonetheless on the crease, it boosted my confidence and I began feeling I might go farther.”
Her momentum continued via the ICC Ladies’s Problem Trophy in Kigali, the place Rwanda impressed towards robust sides together with the USA, Nepal, Italy and Vanuatu.
“We had a really nice event general. The crew confirmed self-discipline, preventing spirit and teamwork,” she stated. “It confirmed Rwanda can compete at a excessive stage.”
Impressed by a worldwide star
Like many younger cricketers, Fanny seems as much as Indian star Virat Kohli.
“He conjures up me due to his mindset, consistency and keenness for the sport.”
But whilst she attracts inspiration from world icons, Fanny is already turning into one herself — particularly for younger ladies in Rwanda aspiring to play cricket.
“I need them to imagine in themselves and by no means be afraid to chase their desires. With laborious work and self-discipline, something is feasible,” she stated.
Rwanda’s vibrant future
Past particular person brilliance, she believes Rwanda’s girls’s crew is coming into a brand new and promising period, crediting captain Diane Bimenyimana for fostering perception and unity.
“She is an excellent chief — supportive and galvanizing. She all the time encourages us to imagine in ourselves and battle for the crew in each state of affairs.”
For Rwanda, her emergence represents greater than only a rising star. It indicators the early rewards of rising funding in girls’s cricket and the arrival of expertise able to competing on the worldwide stage.
And at simply 15, this may increasingly solely be the start.
