NEW DELHI: Psychology is a scientific study of the mind and behavior that helps explain how people think, act and react – and Indian star Pratika Rawal seems to have mastered this balance between mind and sport. A psychology graduate with over 75 per cent marks, Pratika found a way to apply her academic knowledge to cricket.Pratika’s journey, in many ways, is where psychology meets cricket.While most cricketers hum songs to calm their nerves while batting, Pratika follows a different ritual. When she takes guard, she talks to herself – observing the bowler’s body language, swing and eye contact, analyzing every movement before facing the ball.
And the ritual largely bore fruit.Playing in her first ODI Women’s World Cup, Pratika has scored in every match so far – 37 against Sri Lanka, 31 against Pakistan, 37 against South Africa and a brilliant 75 against Australia. With 180 points in four matches at an average of 45, she is currently India’s highest points scorer in the tournament.
Pratika Rawal’s father Pradeep is a BCCI certified level II umpire. (Image: Special arrangement)
“She is a quiet girl. She doesn’t talk much. She just observes. If you really want to see an aggressive Pratika, look into her eyes – she shows her aggression through her bat. And all this happened because of the psychology she studied in college. She has always been a brilliant student academically, and this subject helps her in cricket,” her father Pradeep Rawal told TimesofIndia.com.“Whenever she returns from a match, she explains the nature of the bowlers – how they bowl, their attitude on the field, whether they are aggressive or not. She is a good analyzer of the game,” said Pradeep, a BCCI certified level II umpire with the DDCA.
Pratika Rawal (center) with her family. (Image: Special arrangement)
Carrying books with her cricket kit is a routine for the 25-year-old, who believes books are therapy. Her father recalls that it all started during her school days at the Modern School in Barakhamba Road, where she scored 92.5 per cent in her CBSE exams before graduating in psychology from Jesus & Mary College, New Delhi.She also won gold in basketball at the 64th National School Games in 2019.“Kuch books carry karti hai apne saath (She always carries a few books with her). Whenever she has time, she reads. It’s something she loves. She was very bright academically,” her father added.
Pratika Rawal’s cricket journey began at the age of 6. (Image: Special arrangement)
Her cricket journey began when six-year-old Pratika was spotted by her father playing with friends in a park near their home. Seeing her talent, Pradeep – himself a cricketer and now a certified umpire – took her to coach Sharvan Kumar, who coached Ishant Sharma and Harshit Rana, at Rohtak Road Gymkhana Cricket Club.“I used to show her videos of Sachin Tendulkar and his best shots. I had a collection of those videos. Brian Lara and Steve Waugh too. I wanted to play for India and that was a dream that didn’t come true but I wanted my daughter to reach that level. She really likes Alyssa Healy. I am sure she will have time to talk to her and follow her advice in this tournament,” her father said.Being the only girl in the academy turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Pratika. She often faced taunts and mockery regarding the boys’ training, but instead of getting distracted, she channeled them. Facing accurate and quick deliveries, sharing nets and fielding sessions with boys has toughened her mentally and technically.
Facing accurate and quick deliveries, sharing nets and fielding sessions with boys has toughened Pratika Rawal mentally and technically. (Image: Special arrangement)
“Ek bhi ladki nahi thi academy mein (There was not a single girl in the academy). But for her father, I decided to train Pratika. She has natural talent. The only challenge was that she had to train with boys, so she learned difficult cricket from the beginning,” Sharvan said.“She never liked bowling; she always loved batting and wanted to bowl long innings. She was always punctual – balancing school, cricket and tuition fees. At exactly 7 p.m., she would come to me and say, ‘Sir, mai jaa rahi hun, tution ka time ho gaya hai’ (Sir, I’m leaving, it’s time for my lessons). She carried both her school bag and her kit cricket together,” he said.“Do you know why she reached this level? Not just because she scores points, but because she scores regularly. She often says that she wants to play for the country as long as possible, and for that, she must continue to score to consolidate her place amid so much competition,” added the coach.
