In the 4th Episode of Female Cricket Podcast, Vishal Yadav talks to Team India’s young bowling sensation Radha Yadav about her childhood days, her early cricket memories, her journey from Mumbai to Baroda and the struggles she had to face to be where she is today.
This Podcast might answer a lot of questions we receive from aspiring Female Cricketers. Listen to Radha Yadav’s journey who started playing season-ball cricket at the age of 12 and within 5 years made it to the national team. Of course, the journey wasn’t easy and she had to face a lot.
Radha Yadav had developed her love for the game while playing box cricket with her brother and friends. Nowadays, she is playing box cricket like the old days. However, it is only she and her brother who plays the game. She is following the stern lockdown enforced throughout the nation. Her lockdown schedule has been simplified with some television and training. She trains in the gym in her society and her day is spent there only. She practices batting with her brother and the bowling works fine with a tennis ball.
She candidly says that when thrown at the wall, it bounces back and makes it easier. Unlike many of her teammates, she is not spending time on social media. She enjoys spending time with her family more than Instagram or Twitter. She is born and brought up in Mumbai and her parents have lived in the lively city for ages. Cricket has grown in her family where all the members, leaving Parents, play the game.
She played cricket as a child when she saw her brother. She played all the sports that a Mumbaikar would play. All the gully adventures have been part of her childhood. Her school was near her house and she had to change school for her cricketing prospects. She remembers, being 11 when she was playing alongside elder boys and smashed six consecutive fours off an over to a 20-year chap. She became the main player on the side.
The game was interesting in her days when she played box cricket. She bowled overarm in box cricket surprisingly but the bat was her go-to. Hitting sixes meant more batting and hence she was inclined to bat more. She was spotted by Coach Praful Naik when she was playing Gully Cricket. It was morning time and her coach coincidentally came to her society. He spotted the ruthlessness in her batting and went straight to her dad. Interestingly, the coach didn’t know that it was her dad running a small kiosk just outside the building society.
She has been one of the essential part of the Indian side. Though, she liked batting in her early days but it is the bowling that gets her extra grades. Her ruthlessness hasn’t gone away and is seen on the field. Her childhood and her joyful way of living tell us that if you love your work, you excel in it, no matter what.
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