NEW DELHI: Psychology is a scientific research of the thoughts and behavior that helps clarify how individuals suppose, act and reply — and India's star opener Pratika Rawal appears to have mastered that steadiness between thoughts and sport. A psychology graduate with over 75 % marks, Pratika has discovered methods to use her tutorial data to cricket.Pratika's journey, in some ways, is the place psychology meets cricket.Whereas most cricketers hum songs to calm their nerves whereas batting, Pratika follows a unique ritual. When she takes guard, she talks to herself — observes the bowler's physique language, run-up, and eye contact, analyses each motion earlier than dealing with the ball.
And the ritual has paid off handsomely.Enjoying her maiden Ladies's ODI World Cup, Pratika has scored in each match to this point — 37 vs Sri Lanka, 31 vs Pakistan, 37 vs South Africa, and an excellent 75 vs Australia. With 180 runs in 4 matches at a mean of 45, she is at the moment India's highest run-getter within the match.
Pratika Rawal's father Pradeep is a BCCI-certified Stage-II umpire. (Picture: Particular Association)
“She is a silent woman. She doesn't speak a lot. She simply observes. In the event you actually wish to see an aggressive Pratika, look into her eyes — she exhibits her aggression via her bat. And all of it occurred due to the psychology she studied in school. She has all the time been an academically vibrant pupil, and the topic helps her in cricket,” her father Pradeep Rawal advised TimesofIndia.com.“Each time she returns from a match, she explains the character of the bowlers — how they bowl, their angle on the sector, whether or not they're aggressive or not. She is an effective analyser of the sport,” stated Pradeep, a BCCI-certified Stage-II umpire with the DDCA.
Pratika Rawal (C) together with her household. (Picture: Particular Association)
Carrying books alongside together with her cricket equipment is routine for the 25-year-old, who believes books are remedy. Her father remembers the way it all started throughout her faculty days at Fashionable Faculty, Barakhamba Street, the place she scored 92.5 % in her CBSE board exams earlier than incomes her psychology diploma from Jesus & Mary Faculty in New Delhi.She additionally gained gold in basketball on the sixty fourth Faculty Nationwide Video games in 2019.“Kuch books carry karti hai apne saath (She all the time carries some books together with her). Each time she will get time, she reads. That's one thing she loves. She was academically actually vibrant,” her father added.
Pratika Rawal's cricket journey began at 6 years outdated. (Picture: Particular Association)
Her cricket journey started when a six-year-old Pratika was noticed by her father enjoying with pals at a park close to their house. Seeing her expertise, Pradeep — himself a cricketer and now a licensed umpire — took her to educate Sharvan Kumar, who has educated the likes of Ishant Sharma and Harshit Rana, on the Rohtak Street Gymkhana Cricket Membership.“I used to point out her movies of Sachin Tendulkar and his finest knocks. I had a group of these movies. Brian Lara and Steve Waugh too. I needed to play for India and it was a dream that was unfulfilled however I needed my daughter to achieve this stage. She likes Alyssa Healy quite a bit. I'm certain she's going to get time to speak to her and take ideas from her on this match,” her father stated.Being the one woman within the academy turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Pratika. She typically confronted taunts and jibes for coaching amongst boys, however as an alternative of getting distracted, she channelled it. Going through sharp, quick deliveries, sharing nets, and fielding periods with boys toughened her each mentally and technically.
Going through sharp, quick deliveries, sharing nets, and fielding periods with boys toughened Pratika Rawal mentally and technically. (Picture: Particular Association)
“Ek bhi ladki nahi thi academy mein (There wasn't a single woman within the academy). However for her father, I made a decision to coach Pratika. She's a pure expertise. The one problem was that she needed to practice with boys, so she realized powerful cricket from the beginning,” Sharvan stated.“She by no means preferred bowling; she all the time beloved batting and needed to play lengthy innings. She was all the time punctual — balancing faculty, cricket, and tuitions. At precisely 7pm, she would come to me and say, ‘Sir, mai jaa rahi hun, tution ka time ho gaya hai' (Sir, I'm leaving, it's time for my tuition). She would carry each her faculty bag and cricket equipment collectively,” he stated.“You already know why she has reached this stage? Not simply because she scores runs — however as a result of she scores constantly. She typically says she needs to play for the nation so long as attainable, and for that, she must preserve scoring to cement her place amid a lot competitors,” the coach added.
