Visakhapatnam, ANDHRA PRADESH :
Idolising Indian medium pacer great Jhulon Goswami, Shabnam is already clocking 110 kmph speed and she aspires to touch ‘Jhulon didi’s’ pace of 125 kmph
She is barely 15-years-old and she dreams of playing for the Indian women senior’s cricket team. And she is not far from her dreams, as she has just been selected to represent the country for the Women’s U-19 cricket team. She is the first from this city to get selected for the women’s U-19 team.
Meet Md. Shabnam, a budding right-arm medium pacer, who will be writing her Std. X examination in 2023.
Idolising Indian medium pacer great Jhulon Goswami, Shabnam is already clocking 110 kmph speed and she aspires to touch ‘Jhulon didi’s’ pace of 125 kmph.
Speaking to The Hindu on Monday, Shabnam said that she took to cricket at the age of eight years, after seeing her father Md. Shakeel, who was a medium pacer himself.
“I would go to local league matches and see my father bowl and it was then that I decided that I would also play cricket and make my mark as a medium pacer,” said an excited Shabnam.
With encouragement from her parents, Shabnam practises over seven hours on a daily basis and she never misses a training session.
She is a dedicated cricketer and she has all the potential to make it big, said secretary of Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association, K. Parthasarthi.
She is a tough, tall and strong girl. She is quick through the air and has a good inswinger and a surprise bouncer, said fitness coach Vanka Murali.
She has been very consistent in the last season and probably that has earned her the cap, said Mr. Parthasarathi.
Shabnam has been selected to play for India U-19 in five T 20 matches against the visiting New Zealand U-19 team.
The series is set to start from November 27 and she will be reporting at Mumbai on November 24.
Speaking about her idols in cricket, she said, “In the women’s cricket world my idol is Jhulon didi and on the men’s side it is Jasprit Bumrah.”
Thanking The Hindu for playing a key role in her career, Shabnam said that she was part of every The Hindu-VDCA summer coaching camp for the last few years.
I practise for three hours in the morning and another three hours in the evening, followed by about a one-and-half-hour fitness session. My dream is to play for India, she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Sumit Bhattacharjee (headline edited) / November 21st, 2022