In the world of women’s cricket, Smriti Mandhana stands as a beacon of inspiration. With each stroke of the bat and every milestone achieved, she has etched her name in the annals of cricket. Her batting style, characterized by perfect timing and effortless power, has been revered by fans around the globe. Her journey from Sangli, a small village in Maharashtra, to becoming one of the world’s leading opening batters is a testament to her talent and dedication towards the sport.

Smriti was born on 18 July 1996, and was raised in a cricket-loving household. Inspired by her father’s tales of district-level cricket and her brother’s exploits on the field, Smriti’s fascination with the game bloomed. As her skill set expanded, so did her ambitions. While she dedicated herself to cricket, she also prioritized her education. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Chintamanrao College of Commerce, Sangli.

With rigorous practice and unyielding determination, at nine, Smriti made it to the Maharashtra Under-15 team, and by eleven, she was already playing for the Under-19s. In 2013, she etched her name in history by becoming the first Indian woman to score a double century (224 runs) in an Under-19 one-day game.

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“Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned”, goes an age-old English proverb, but time and again this scorn has proved to be of great advantage to our country. Tulsidas is said to have been chastised by his wife all because of his infatuation for his wife, and the ridiculed lover went on to compose the Ram Charit Manas which today governs the life of more than a billion people around the world. Kicked out of the home by his wife Vidyotama for his stupidity and ignorance, Kalidas went on to become the greatest dramatist and writer that India has ever produced.

The story of Mohammed Shami has a close resemblance to that of Tulsidas and Kalidas. Accused by his wife of domestic violence to the extent of him having come close to imprisonment, Shami seems to have come back with a vengeance, and the expression of his anger seems to make the opposition batsmen suffer on the cricket field, much to the delight of all Indian cricket fans.

Born to a farmer’s family on 3 September 1990 in a village in the Uttar Pradesh district of Amroha, Shami’s career has been one of uncertainties and injuries. Paradoxically, it has been injuries to his teammates that have created the vent for Mohammed Shami to come up and prove his worth. In 2012, an injury to one of his teammates created an opportunity for Shami to play for the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, and with an eight wicket haul, he was instrumental in his team winning the Duleep Trophy.

Having been made to sit out for four matches in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup despite an impressive performance against the Australians just before that, an injury to Hardik Pandya left the selectors with no alternative but to rework the Indian team’s composition, and in came Shami with a big bang.

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As my book Dare gets ready to be launched, I don’t miss an opportunity to go to book stores and see what the competition is like. “How’s the sale of your motivational books?” I ask a book seller.

“Sometimes beats fiction sales!” he says happily, making me also very happy and then I frown, “But then we should have a nation of successful people!” I think, “What then is wrong?”

And in my mind’s eye I see a young boy. “Listen young fellow, what have you been doing the last few days?” I ask the boy.

“Learning cricket from this bestseller!”

“That’s written by one of our greatest batsmen…” I tell him.

“Yes,” says the enthusiastic fellow, “I’ve read this book from cover to cover! See this picture, this is a square drive, can you see how the batsman has his feet on the ground and just look at his stance!”

“Yes!” I agree.

“See this is how you bowl a googly, and this is a Yorker. Now turn to page 52, there those are pictures of the world’s greatest catches…”

“Wonderful!” I tell him.

“I know every page of the book,” he tells me, “Ask me anything from it, ask how I should stand at slips, how to hit a ball to mid-off, and what a cover drive is.”

“You’ve really learnt a lot,” I tell him, “So with all this learning, what does that make you?”

“A test cricketer!” he shouts gleefully.

I turn away from the young hopeful and look at you, “Does that really make him a test cricketer? Does mastering a book on cricket make anybody a cricketer? Does reading how to hold a bat or bowl a ball, make him a future great in Indian cricket? A Virat Kohli in the making?”

No, it doesn’t.

So, what does?

Getting onto the field, into the hurly burly of the game, of running between wickets! Running after the ball, catching it, throwing it to the wicket keeper. That’s the only way, by strapping on his pads, or picking the ball and putting his book knowledge to use, right?”

Read all the books you want, but without practically using those facts all such knowledge is useless.

“You’ve got so many books on dieting?” somebody asks an overweight lady, but it doesn’t seem to have done much good. “No!” she says as she peels the wrapper of the next chocolate bar, “I know what to do, but don’t have the will to do it!”

“Come here!” I tell the little boy as I give him a bat, “Now let me bowl to you!”

And there as he faces the first ball and a thousand others, is the beginnings of a test cricketer, putting all his book theories into practice!

My book Dare will also be useless unless you go out and bat!

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