Shweta Sehrawat, the young batting sensation from Delhi, took the first ever women’s Under-19 World Cup by storm earlier this year. She spoke to Naman Agarwal about her campaign, the balancing act between education and cricket, her senior India aspirations and more.
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When South Africa was finalised as the venue for the first Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, it raised hopes among the Indian cricket community. The last time the inaugural edition of a T20 World Cup was held in South Africa, it turned out to be a watershed moment for the men’s sport. Could this, then, lead to an encore for the women’s game?
Turns out it did. The Indian women triumphed, beating England in the final and winning their first ever ICC trophy in the process. Just before the senior Women’s T20 World Cup, where India came agonisingly close to beating Australia in the semi-final, and the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, the tournament marked the beginning of what may turn out to be one of the most significant phases in the history of women’s cricket in India. And 19-year-old Shweta Sehrawat was at the centre of it, leading India’s charge to glory.
Sehrawat was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 297 runs from seven games. She struck at 139, and was dismissed only thrice, which took her average to a Bradmanesque 99. Yet, she could have missed the tournament altogether but for an intervention from National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman.
The NCA camp of 2022 clashed with Sehrawat’s board examinations, something she was keen on not missing. She told Wisden India how the NCA and Laxman helped her navigate the issue: “I had my board exams, so I had to miss the first half of the camp. I attended the last seven days. Laxman sir gave me permission to attend the last seven days of the camp.
“Towards the end of the camp, we had two matches. In one of them, I scored some 30-35 runs off relatively fewer balls. And in the second I scored a hundred, which impressed the coaches. They then sent a letter to the higher management that I should be selected for the India Under-19 team.”
“I used to talk a lot with Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris. They used to share their routines with me, and how they trained in Australia. They do a lot of match-scenario training, which helps them in match situations. So I learned how to integrate that into my practice sessions from them,” says Sehrawat.
Sehrawat insists that this has helped the Australians develop an ability to handle pressure: “We [India] also do it, but not as well as the Australians. They focus a lot on this particular type of training, which helps them perform better under pressure. For example, if you need 12 or 14 from 10 balls in a match, and if you have trained for this particular scenario in practice, you would know how to go about it.”
Still only 19, Sehrawat is already a World Cup winner, a tag not a lot of other Indian female cricketers can boast of. More girls come up to her for advice and inspiration now, but she is firmly grounded and knows that her journey has just started: “Kids come to me at the academy and ask me, ‘didi (sister), how should I do things?’ and it feels good. But the thing is even I am in a developing stage right now.”
When asked about how she prepares ahead of a season or a tournament, and the targets she sets for herself, her confidence and clarity of thought shine through: “The only aim I have is to become the highest run-scorer of whatever tournament I am playing.”
India will host the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, and Sehrawat has her sight firmly on the goal. Her aspirations are simple: “I don’t have a hard-and-fast deadline, but I do have an aim of playing in the 2025 World Cup which will be in India. So I am trying my best for that.”
Sehrawat already has the highest run-scorer’s tag in a victorious World Cup campaign for India, their first in women’s cricket. It’s only fair if she dreams of another one.
