An avid sportsperson since school, Sarika only tried out for the Mumbai cricket association (MHA) team in class 10. A student of the Nootan Vidya Mandir, it was at the behest of her sports teacher, Mr Adve, that she went for the MHA cricket trials. Since then, it’s been cricket all the way for her.
Currently she’s a student of the GN Khalsa College, Matunga, and has played for her college team and competed at the Maharashtra State Divisions level. Her cumulative score in the last three matches is a remarkable 215 runs. This statistic was instrumental in her selection as captain of the under-19 women’s cricket team.
For Sarika, the road doesn’t stop at playing for MHA. Currently in the thick of a practice camp in Jammu that began on 7 December, she will soon play her first national-level tournament while representing the Maharashtra Cricket Association.
Supported by her father, she tells me of the family’s initial skepticism and reluctance that soon turned into proud backing after she began to perform and play in matches.
Pre-tournament practise follows more or less the same rigorous routine devised by her Mumbai Cricket Association coach, Sanjay Gaitonde, at the Bandra Kurla Complex. For five days in a week, the team practises on the field from 1 to 4 pm and have slots for endurance training in the gym on Mondays and Fridays. Additionally, they also have practise matches over the weekend.
Sarika credits her bowling and fielding prowess to playing with a Trombay local cricket team, Kiran 11, of which her older brother and very many people of all ages in the village are a part of. All set to celebrate its 25th anniversary since inception this year, Kiran 11 consists of various sub-teams such as Ganesh 11, Harichandar 1, Master Blaster 11 (Sarika’s loyalty lies with them), Rocklapster 11 and Chereshwar 11 to name a few.
Competition among the sub-teams forms an integral part of the annually held Koli festival. Sarika speaks of initially being cold-shouldered by the boys and being asked to ‘go play at home’; this, of course, changed once they let her play and saw how good she was.
She admits to a sense of pride in doing what she does, but does wish for some form of support from the community aside from her family. This, she says, hasn’t been forthcoming. But she is inspired, by Indian cricketer Poonam Raut apart from Duminy, and hopes to play for India one day..
by Shruti Ravi
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