U19 WC: Meet Ishwari Awasare, inspired by words from Tendulkar, desire to play for India

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) Moreshwar Rao Awasare vividly remembers the moment signifying the beginning of his daughter Ishwari’s unstoppable cricketing career. It was in November 2018 when Sachin Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy held a camp in Bishop School, Pune. 

The likes of Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli were present in Pune alongside other coaches to provide young girls and boys aged 7-18 opportunities to enhance their cricketing skills. Noticing several girls from Maharashtra signing up for the camp, Moreshwar sent Ishwari as well.

One fine day, Tendulkar was impressed by Ishwari’s right-handed batting and called her. “But the thing was, she didn’t know who Sachin really was. At 8.5 years, she was too young to know everything about him at that time. But Sachin saw her batting closely and later said, ‘who told you to change your stance?’

"She just used to stand and play her shots, but Sachin told her ‘Just take my name and tell people that you won’t be changing your stance’. It was very inspiring for us, as she later came to us and said ‘Sir gave me 10 minutes’.

“After that big day, all the family members motivated and encouraged her a lot, and she didn’t stop in her cricketing journey,” recalls Moreshwar in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

Six years and two months after, Ishwari is preparing to represent India at the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, starting on January 18 in Malaysia. For Ishwari, playing in this tournament is the realisation of a long-standing dream to represent India.

“Now that a childhood dream is coming true, I am feeling proud of getting a chance to play in the U19 World Cup. We will go in with a lot of confidence. Our team did well by winning the Asia Cup. We have improved a lot and the coaching staff is also backing us and giving the team a lot of confidence to win the World Cup. If I feel nervous, I go to the coaches and talk to them. They support and give me a lot of help,” said Ishwari to IANS before leaving for the World Cup.

Cricket literally runs in blood and veins of the Awasare joint family. Moreshwar works in the defence sector, but played cricket at local and industrial levels. He was also the captain of his office team in internal office tournaments. Moreshwar’s older son had played cricket for five or six years, but he made him to stop playing the sport when he was in tenth grade.

In India, tenth grade is incredibly important because it influences students’ future careers and higher secondary subject choices. Before formally deciding to stop his son’s tryst with cricket at the Divekar Cricket Academy in 2017, Ishwari had tagged along with Moreshwar one fine day, where coach Sunil Divekar had a look at her.

It was also the time when the likes of Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana became household names as India’s magnificent run in 2017 ODI World Cup ended in heartbreaking runners-up finish at Lord’s, with women’s cricket in the country finding new-found attention from fans.

“At the academy, coach asked, ‘What is she doing?’ I said, ‘Nothing, sir. She is studying in second grade’. Sir said, ‘Leave her for a while, to see what she can do’. So, we sent her to the nets, where sir gave her a small bat, and said ‘play how you want to, you just have to hit’.

“Though she was small that time, she had power and hit her shots well. On seeing that, sir said, ‘Leave her at the academy and we will see how she does in a month’. In one-two months, she picked up so much – like playing with a straight bat. With school timings not adjusted, we used to send her to the academy on Saturday and Sunday. As soon as she started playing well, sir didn’t take her coaching fees for two years," Moreshwar said.

While Ishwari initially liked bowling, she actually preferred batting. Divekar’s emphasis on Ishwari’s batting prowess led her to idolise the styles of Smriti and Virat Kohli. The brief 2018 meeting with Tendulkar resulted in his inclusion in her list of batting role models.

“At first, my father and brother used to say that there is only one girl in the team, and how will it all work if all of them played together in an eleven? But later, when I was settled in the game, then no such worries happened. I like playing flick shot and love to hit the ball over bowler’s head,” added Ishwari.

After the brief encounter with Tendulkar in 2018, Ishwari’s domestic cricket journey took off by playing for Maharashtra in the U15 women’s one-day trophy, where she found a best friend in fellow India U19 team-mate Bhavika Ahire.

“Our bonding is very good. Whenever we have to say something to each other about the sport, we say it. Whenever I feel nervous, I talk to her. We also give each other tips on the field,” said Ishwari.

But it was in the 2023/24 season which saw Ishwari coming into the spotlight – she became the leading run-getter in Women’s U19 one-day trophy with 481 runs in eight matches at 80.17 and strike-rate of 92.5.

In the same season, Ishwari made 325 runs in eight games at 40.63 and strike-rate of 123.57. After that, she came on the radar of national selectors and attended an U19 high-performance camp. Ishwari then became the leading run-getter with 327 runs in eight games of this season’s U19 T20 Trophy at 46.71 and strike-rate of 113.93.

Ishwari, who also bowls handy leg-spin, credits the support she got from selectors in the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) for increasing her confidence and performances by giving her exposure of playing in U23 and senior teams. Moreshwar explains how the state body and the BCCI helped his daughter in recovery from injuries.

“In last three years, she has never looked back in terms of scoring runs, despite being injured three times. She fractured her finger once, and had a ligament tear before the Challenger Trophy. The BCCI supported her a lot by giving a full-fledged plan to follow for recovery. The BCCI physio called her daily to know about her progress and quick recovery, and everyone, including the Maharashtra Cricket Association, supported her a lot in this period.”

While Ishwari’s batting role was minimal in the inaugural U19 Women’s Asia Cup win, her stunning catch of Fahomida Choya in the Kuala Lumpur final captivated fans - her splendid grab coming after running to her left from deep mid-wicket.

“As per where the ball was going, I thought the catch would not be completed. But when I came closer after running, I thought it was possible to take, irrespective of how it would end. So I went all out to take the catch and felt very good on completing it,” she said.

Later that month, Ishwari pulled off a fantastic direct-hit to run out the well-set Jhansi Lakshmi in quarter-final of the Senior Women’s One-day Trophy in Rajkot. She credits her exceptional fielding skills to the Maharashtra coaches’ diligent focus on eliminating any weaknesses in this aspect of the game.

Over the past year, Ishwari, a tenth-grader, has been constantly traveling, spending only ten days at home, according to Moreshwar. He found it hard to get permission for her cricket leaves from the school, but eventually persuaded the authorities after many requests.

In the Awasare household, cricket is the main topic of conversation, with Ishwari always adding her opinions on both men’s and women’s matches. Ishwari’s childhood also was shaped by Moreshwar’s consistent emphasis on importance of the national flag, which nurtured in her an innate desire to represent the country when cricket came into picture.

As Ishwari aims to help India retain their title against the West Indies on January 19, Moreshwar will feel immense joy and pride watching his daughter represent India in the global tournament.

“Everyone wants to play for the Indian flag, and when the National Anthem starts, we also stand up. While talking to you, I realized that playing for the Indian flag is such a big thing. When she was playing in the Asia Cup, everyone at home realised she’s representing the country and its’ flag, a feeling which I can’t describe much in words as it’s a totally different emotion.”

“Now seeing her play for India means the world to her, me and entire family. Everyone in the family and friend circle had this dream to see her play for India one day. Now with it coming to reality, everyone is happy and the atmosphere at home will be great when she plays for India in the World Cup,” signed off Moreshwar.

--IANS

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