Moreshwar Rao Awasare can still clearly recall the day when his daughter Ishwari’s unstoppable cricket career began. The Sachin Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy hosted a camp at Bishop School in Pune in November 2018.

Along with other instructors, Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli were in Pune to provide young girls and boys ages 7 to 18 the chance to improve their cricketing abilities. Moreshwar sent Ishwari after seeing that a number of girls from Maharashtra were enrolling in the program.

Tendulkar phoned Ishwari one day after being captivated by her right-handed hitting. The problem was that she was unaware of Sachin’s true identity. She wasn’t old enough to fully understand him at the age of 8.5. However, Sachin said, “Who told you to change your stance?” after seeing her hitting attentively.

Before Sachin urged her to “just take my name and tell people that you won’t be changing your stance,” she would just stand and play her shots. We were really inspired when she subsequently approached us and said, “Sir, you gave me ten minutes.”

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Moreshwar recollects, “After that big day, all the family members motivated and encouraged her a lot, and she didn’t stop in her cricketing journey.”

Ishwari is getting ready to play for India in the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins in Malaysia on January 18 after six years and two months. Ishwari’s participation in this event is the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition to play for India.

“I am happy to have been given the opportunity to participate in the U19 World Cup, as it is the realization of a boyhood goal. We’ll enter with great assurance. By winning the Asia Cup, our squad performed well. The coaching staff is supporting us and giving the squad a lot of confidence to win the World Cup, and we have made significant progress. I approach the coaches and speak with them if I’m feeling anxious. Before departing for the World Cup, Ishwari told IANS, “They help and support me a lot.”

For the Awasare joint family, cricket is literally in their blood. Despite playing cricket at the municipal and industrial levels, Moreshwar is employed in the defense industry. In internal workplace competitions, he also captained his office squad. When he was in the ninth grade, Moreshwar forced his elder son to give up cricket, a sport he had played for five or six years.

Because it affects students’ choices for upper secondary subjects and future occupations, the tenth grade is crucial in India. Ishwari had accompanied Moreshwar on a certain day when coach Sunil Divekar had a look at her prior to publicly opting to end his son’s cricket tryst at the Divekar Cricket Academy in 2017.

As India’s incredible run in the 2017 ODI World Cup ended in a devastating runners-up finish at Lord’s, it was also around this time that players like Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana became well-known, and women’s cricket in the nation gained newfound popularity among cricket fans.

“What is she doing?” the coach inquired at the academy. “Nothing, sir,” I said. She is a second-grade student. “Leave her for a while to see what she can do,” suggested Sir. After sending her to the nets, Sir handed her a little bat and instructed her to hit; otherwise, she was free to play anyway she pleased.

Despite her little size at the time, she had strength and made accurate strokes. “Leave her at the academy and we will see how she does in a month,” remarked Sir after observing that. She learned a lot in only two months, including how to play with a straight bat. We used to send her to the academy on Saturday and Sunday as the school schedule was not changed. Sir stopped paying her coaching expenses for two years after she began to play well,” Moreshwar said.

Ishwari enjoyed bowling at first, but she really adored batting. She idolized Smriti and Virat Kohli’s batting techniques as a result of Divekar’s attention on Ishwari’s skill. Tendulkar was added to her list of batting role inspirations after their short encounter in 2018.

Initially, my brother and father would claim that there was only one lady on the squad and that it wouldn’t work if everyone played in an eleven. However, as I felt comfortable with the game, these concerns vanished. Ishwari said, “I like playing flick shots and want to knock the ball over the bowler’s head.

Following her short meeting with Tendulkar in 2018, Ishwari’s domestic cricket career took off when she represented Maharashtra in the U15 women’s one-day tournament, where she befriended Bhavika Ahire, a teammate from India’s U19 squad.

“We have a great relationship. Every time we need to discuss the sport with one another, we do so. I speak to her whenever I’m anxious. On the pitch, we also provide advice to one another,” Ishwari remarked.

However, Ishwari’s rise to prominence occurred during the 2023–2024 season, when she amassed 481 runs in eight games at an 80.17 strike rate, making her the top run scorer in the Women’s U19 One-Day Trophy.

Ishwari scored 325 runs with a strike rate of 123.57 and 40.63 in eight games throughout the season. She then attended a U19 high-performance program and caught the attention of national selectors. With 327 runs in eight games in this season’s U19 T20 Trophy with a strike rate of 113.93 and a 46.71, Ishwari then took the lead in runs scored.

Ishwari, who also bowls good leg-spin, attributes her improved confidence and performance to the help she received from Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) selectors, who let her play for the U23 and senior teams. Moreshwar describes how the BCCI and the state agency assisted his daughter in healing from her wounds.

Despite suffering three injuries in the last three years, she has never looked back in terms of runs scored. Prior to the Challenger Trophy, she had a ligament rupture and suffered a finger fracture. The BCCI provided her with a comprehensive recuperation plan, which really helped her. Everyone helped her during this time, including the Maharashtra Cricket Association, and the BCCI physio contacted her every day to check on her progress and speedy recovery.

Even though Ishwari didn’t play much at bat in the first-ever U19 Women’s Asia Cup victory, her incredible catch of Fahomida Choya in the Kuala Lumpur final enthralled spectators. She made the brilliant catch after sprinting to her left from deep midwicket.

I believed the catch would not be accomplished based on the direction of the ball. But regardless of how it turned out, I believed it was feasible to take when I got closer after jogging. I thus gave it my best to make the catch, and I felt great about finishing it,” she said.

Later that month, in the Rajkot quarterfinal of the Senior Women’s One-day Trophy, Ishwari ran out the well-set Jhansi Lakshmi with a spectacular straight hit. She attributes her remarkable fielding abilities to the Maharashtra coaches’ unwavering commitment to addressing any shortcomings in this area of the game.

Moreshwar claims that Ishwari, a tenth student, has barely spent 10 days at home during the last year due to her numerous travels. He struggled to get the school to grant her cricket leave, but after several attempts, he was able to convince the officials.

Ishwari always shares her thoughts on both men’s and women’s cricket matches, making cricket the primary subject of discussion in the Awasare home. Ishwari’s early years were also influenced by Moreshwar’s constant insistence on the value of the national flag, which stoked her natural desire to play for her country when cricket came around.

On January 19, Moreshwar will be ecstatic to see his daughter play for India in the international competition, with Ishwari hoping to help India win the championship again against the West Indies.

“Everyone wants to play for the Indian flag, and we all rise up when the National Anthem begins. I became aware of how important it is to play for the Indian flag as we were speaking. Everyone at home realized she was representing the nation and its flag while she was playing in the Asia Cup, and it was a whole different sensation that I find difficult to put into words.

It means the world to her, myself, and our whole family to see her play for India now. Every member of the family and friend group hoped to see her perform for India at some point. Now that it’s happening, everyone is pleased, and when she plays for India in the World Cup, the atmosphere at home will be fantastic,” Moreshwar said.