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All padded up

Another cricketer from Hyderabad gets ready to wear the hat

READY TO BAT Sravanthi Naidu is keen to make a big impact

She looks like a tennis player, but Sravanthi Naidu is determined to be a good cricketer. Why not? She comes from the same locality that threw up Indian captain S. Mithali Raj. This undergraduate student was amongst the Indian probables for the recent Australian tour but missed the bus by a whisker.

Undeterred, Sravanthi is keen to write a new chapter in a sport few girls take up with interest. A promising all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, this unassuming girl from Secunderabad is honing her skills under the tutelage of Dorai Raj, who she feels is primarily responsible in shaping up her cricketing career.

With the Junior Nationals scheduled next month, Sravanthi is keen to make a big impact at the national level to gain a slot in the Indian team. For the record, she played in one Test against England to return with two wickets in 16.5 overs besides four one-day internationals with best figures of four for 30. Obviously, she is looking for consistency at the highest level and to achieve this she has been in constant touch with Mithali.

"Well I admire Rahul Dravid a lot and would love to be at least half as brilliant and consistent as he is to be a cricketer of some repute," says a modest Sravanthi.

However, this 19-year-old cricketer is disappointed that nothing big really happens in women's cricket in Hyderabad. "We are badly in need of a really competitive circuit to not only hone our own skills but also to lure some more youngsters to the sport," says Sravanthi.

Her recipe for improving the standard of women's cricket in the State is to have more inter-district tournaments. Fortunately, with parents - Govindraj Naidu and Suman - encouraging her to the hilt, this dashing cricketer can have the privilege to look ahead and aim big.

Well, Sravanthi is not so naïve to forget the stiff competition she faces to book a slot in the Indian team and considers Hyderabad's own Ghouse Sultana and Dimri of Uttar Pradesh as the nearest contenders for giving a run for her money.

"In a way this keeps me on my toes. The desire to excel under trying circumstances is always there. Definitely, I am enjoying the possible `threat' from these two cricketers for it should help me give of my best and I hope to make a real impact on the national selectors with decent performances in the Junior Nationals," says Sravanthi.

To achieve her goal, she trains for six hours daily with emphasis being on nets in Keyes High School.

Like many women cricketers, Sravanthi too is perturbed at lack of sponsorship for the individuals and the sport too. "We only wish that the long-pending, merger proposal of BCCI and the Women's Cricket Association finally takes place," she hopes.

But for the time being, Sravanthi is keen to focus on the game and let her feats do the talking.

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

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