Delivery 0.2

 Me: “Amma when I get back home let’s not talk cricket for a few days.”

Amma: “Okay beta! Get back home quickly. I have prepared your favourite dal chawal and tomato dahi curry.”

This was my conversation with my mother as soon as I landed at the Goa airport.  I reached home at approximately 11 PM and was greeted by my parents from afar. I made my way to my room with all my luggage. My parents are both 60+ and we, as a family, have been being extremely careful due to Covid. 

As I made my way through the drawing room my mother shouts and asks me to come and sit and watch a T20 game. A team batting second needed six from four balls. I turned to the TV screen, let out a deep sigh and carried on walking to my room. By the time I got ready for bed the game was over and I just checked the scorecards online. 

Cricket has been such a big part of my life… Sorry, my entire family‘s life. Studying for exams with the cricket commentary in the background was just a normal thing for me growing up. I would completely forget about learning phylum classification for my biology test the next day if I sat down and watched an over or two of a cricket match. I guess cricket always helped me get away from the present into a world faraway which was certainly very enjoyable.

Through my professional career I have had my fair share of ups and downs. There have been days that I have been fit and raring to get onto the field. But the next thing I am doing is running in with the drinks as fast as I can, racing against broadcasters and their desire to quickly cut to ads just so that my parents back home can see me on the screen and know that I am fine. 🙃 I have learnt so much sitting on the sidelines.

I take a lot of pride in representing my country and have never taken my place for granted. My parents understand what it means to me to be wearing that cap and have supported me through my good and bad times. They have travelled and come down at 8 am for a 10 am start so that they could watch me play the warm up game at least even if I was not in the playing eleven for the major part of one series.

From the moment I returned home from abroad I have seen loads of screenshots of all the comments on delivery number 0.2 from the second T20I  on my family WhatsApp group which has my three biggest supporters in the world - my father, sister and mother. They wish to see every single of them, it gives them immense joy.

For every video of the ball being forwarded on the WhatsApp group I go back and watch the video my sister made for me just before the second T20i. I must have seen it 100 times before I got off the team bus for the game. Maybe it gave me that little extra push that day… 

As I sit in my room and write this I hope I’ve done my society’s watchman Bhaiya proud. We recently moved into a new flat and when I was leaving for the tour he said, “Madam achcha karna. Abhi tak toh nahi liya but Australia se aane ke baad selfie loonga.”( I have not taken a selfie with you till now, but shall for sure take one when you return back from Australia)

Yesterday, I happened to meet a course-mate of mine after ages. He said he couldn’t believe what happened in that delivery and went on to add that it would had been even better if it had hit the top of off. I mean- seriously?! 😒 Everyone is a cricket pandit in India, aren’t they? But then friends like these keep me humble and  grounded..always. 😁

There are a fair few deliveries of mine that I take a lot of pride in but the timing of this one makes it special. I fully understand that this is a materialistic world and that’s why delivery 2.4 to Mooney didn’t receive the attention it deserved. 

At the end of it all, I most certainly believe ‘THAT’ inswinger was how something/ someone up there told me rather reminded me to NOT lose hope and have faith in my hard work.There is still so much more to dream and to achieve because I am a heavy dreamer…..

Take a Breather

It’s ok to get lost,

Sometimes somehow somewhere.

To lie down and just be,

And to not care.

Life’s difficult,

It isn’t always fair.

It’s ok not to look far too ahead,

And to come up for some air.

                               -Shikha

Puddle and Me

 Trivial happenings that make so much sense to me!

The Chotu 5 Star Lover

Everyone has a favourite candy or chocolate as a kid,

I loved 5 Star with all my heart, yes I did.

Whenever running errands, I’d save money,

Sang praises of my shrewd self, funny.

I’d consciously collect the money required,

One chocolate in a month was all I desired.

In the receipts of things bought I was interested,

Working maths, how many chocolates could I buy instead.

Everything in my world was somehow connected to 5 Star,

I loved the caramel and nougat mix covered milk chocolate bar.

Material world existed in the multiples of 5 Star for me,

All A+s would get me one, my parents would agree.

I am a grown up now and things have changed,

Anything for God to help us get our lives re-arranged.

I am a 90’s kid and love my childhood stories,

The mere sight of 5 Star brings back happy memories.

  

Humanity First

Help me break the door and come in,                    Do not judge me based on my sex, religion, caste, creed or colour of my skin.

Help me break the door and come in,

I believe in the Almighty, but my hope in human kind is wearing thin.

Help me break the door and come in,

I am tired of your fake sympathy urging me to take everything on the chin.

Help me break the door and come in, 

Before I lose patience, courage and the will to fight within.

Help me break the door and come in,

Born equal, but I fail to understand the cruelty bestowed upon me that sends my head into a spin.

Help me break the door and come in, 

Let’s talk about all the good we can do even with the unpleasant places that we’ve been.

Help me break the door and come in,

To hold your hand, bring you out in the open, where Humanity comes first and together let a new journey begin.

Beyond the Boundary and The Lillee Marsh Stand

For someone who is an absolute cricket nut, not going back and watching the T-20 World Cup videos of my bowling/ batting was difficult. After every tournament I play, I go back and watch all my videos for a good day or two. Yeah, I know, I am crazy. 

But this time over it was different. I didn’t want to watch them partly because the heart break after the final was immense. I take a lot of pride in having represented my country in a sport that I have  loved since I was five years old. Also, I have been fortunate to play two World Cup finals, and have learnt a lot on the way to these and even more from their results. 

Cut to today, I watched the documentary on my cell phone, in about twenty minutes or so- I fast forwarded or skipped most of it. My parents are even bigger cricket lovers than me. Remember, I am their kid, so yeah. They kept nagging me to watch it along with them on television via the streaming service. I said no initially but then had to give in to their wish. 

We started watching the documentary whilst having lunch. And I realised how well it was made. Kudos to ICC to even have thought on these lines. I had a smile on my face all along and I watched it till the end. My parents have always watched me playing live cricket on tv and they said for the first time ever they weren’t anxious and loved every minute of the documentary ( they even managed to locate me in there a fair bit of times). 

Watching the documentary today was such a relief and the emotions found a way out. Just to re-iterate the fact that cricket is a part of my life and it isn't the other way around. I still have some work to do on that front and I am happy that I am getting better.

On the brighter side- I now, am a part of a documentary on women’s cricket, that celebrates the T-20 women’s World Cup in the year 2020, which has been an absolute nightmare thus far due COVID-19. I found something to smile about in these testing times whilst praying for and contributing whatever little I can  towards the well-being of so many who are finding it difficult even to survive.

Cricket has taken me to some amazing places and has let me make some wonderful friends for life. Also, who gets to meet global Icons like Katy Perry and Billie Jean King in person and be part of a 'once in a life time celebration of women's cricket' with 87,000 people (86,174 plus the ground staff, organising committee, volunteers, the teams players and  support staff) in attendance at the G.

I have come a long way from being a brooding cricketer for whom perfection mattered the most. I have seen a lot of ups and downs in my cricket career. Now, I don’t repent anything that I have done or anything that has happened to me, good or bad because that has helped shape me to be the person I am today. (I, still, am never happy with the LBW decisions off my bowling  though 😅)

Believe me - The only thing I repent the most is not to have bowled a bouncer in the Bangladesh game when we were playing at WACA- a ground that has been my absolute favourite growing up, during any Australian home test series. It's a real shame that WACA has been relegated to the rear ranks and shall now become a community and sporting hub serving as a training base. To have been able to play on this ground, for sure, shall be one of my most cherished memories.

    The Super Happy ME!! Pic credits- Abhilasha Agrawal: winsport images

P.S. 'Champions keep playing until they get it right'- Billie Jean King: is my favourite sports quote and my personal e-mail account's signature.😉

Aut Viam Inventam Aut Faciam

Aut Viam Inventam Aut Faciam: this has been my favourite quote for a while now. It is a Latin quote that translates to, 'I shall either find a way or make one'!

Over the last year I have been often asked this question - What changed?
I tried to figure out in this photo blog I compiled. 😼

2018: Such an apt picture. I had turned a blind eye to enjoying the sport. 

I made a resolution mid way through the year: Always believe in how good you are and never let anyone else tell you otherwise. For me, that was the start...

A little souvenir from that tour of Sri Lanka that taught me a lot about myself. It reminds me of all the hardships I have faced, not just on one tour but through my life.

Things I did to keep myself motivated. From the time I was presented with my India cap by Jhulu di, back in 2014 to this day, I consider myself truly blessed. 

Test cap no. 77
ODI cap no. 112
T20I cap no. 48

One of the best books I have read. I carry it along on tours and every time I read it, I tend to understand life better.

December 2018, Vijayawada: The three days I was admitted in hospital, I realised how precious life is. Also, for two days in a row, I dreamt of bowling with a mask on. My sister, who came down all the way from Hyderabad to look after me, isn't much of a selfie person and she thought I was/am mad when she heard my mask dream.

P.S. I wore the mask before if became mandatory!

I am a huge believer of having little affirmations. I have always written a diary and when I find something worth telling myself, it goes right in there.

This tournament was so much fun! It was a huge learning curve, and I genuinely believe I have so much more to learn on the captaincy front!

Loved playing in New Zealand. One country that I would wish to visit every year. Serene, quiet and picturesque.

Kerri was our local liaison during our trip to New Zealand. Such a kind and compassionate soul. She was responsible for pushing me to have a brave and transparent conversation, one that changed my whole outlook towards cricket and made me believe.

Tracy ma'am-I have known her for ten years now. She has been my saviour on tours. One of the most kind-hearted and genuine people I know.

Someone very knowledgeable once told me, 'Trust the process, results will follow.' The joy in enjoying the process is immense. I don't know, but I think it all started falling in place during the England series. I had a sea facing room, which meant the evenings were as good as the games.

Also, here's a random picture of the salad I would order everyday.

An item from the to-do list ticked off. As a kid I drew the Taj in my drawing books and submitted a social science project on The Taj, but to visit Taj Mahal was a surreal experience.

P.S: The company wasn't too bad either.

Still can't play the guitar that well, but I finally got down to hiring a tutor and taking classes. A niggle meant I spent a considerable time playing guitar at home and spending hours on my batting.

P.S. Long hours of playing guitar = Ulna nerve impingement. It's crazy how I find ways of picking up niggles and keeping the physio busy.

I had so much fun playing for Team Velocity. Amazing memories made playing alongside (and against) some great players. Highlight of the birthday was getting to speak to a legend of the game and getting back home to a surprise gifts from parents, who were visiting my sister and weren't home.

He was one of the best human beings I have known and a friend for life. Gone too soon....

Unprecedented rains made sure I improvised, found ways to train, dragged my parents along to synthetic tracks, read a lot and irritated my mother with crazy meal plans... healthy ones though.

Memorable tour! Largely thanks to my drone. I had an amazing time clicking pictures and videos. Also, got pictures taken with legendary fast bowlers, whom I grew up watching, and Sir Viv's statue in Antigua.

Hard work never goes waste. 2019 was no doubt pretty eventful!

I know I still have a long way to go....

P.S. I wouldn't be one bit the person I am if it weren't for these three. So we have been having these newsroom conversations from the time my parents started using smartphones. My sister: in Hyderabad or where ever her work takes her; me: wherever cricket takes me; my father: in the drawing room; and my mother: in the bedroom (of the same house). It's sad that they also take the bump on the road along with me, but I love them the most in this world.