A bright spot in TN gloom

MD Thirushkamini is no stranger to cricket. She has been in the national cricket circuit for quite some time, except for a few years when she took a break to look after her ailing father
A bright spot in TN gloom
A bright spot in TN gloom

MD Thirushkamini is no stranger to cricket. She has been in the national cricket circuit for quite some time, except for a few years when she took a break to look after her ailing father. Now, she has become a bright spot for the state during the BCCI’s senior women’s one-dayers in the Elite B group held in Pune last week.

Though the team failed to reach the knockouts, Thirushkamini showed some spark to notch up a couple of hundreds. The back-to-back unbeaten centuries were against Chandigarh and Uttarakhand. It is the second hundred she cherishes.

The 31-year old, who until last season represented Railways, made up for lost time by making 321 runs from five games. With years of experience behind her, maturity and commitment reflected in the former India batter’s game as she consistently steered the team to some kind of respectability. The lockdown too helped her introspect.

“It feels good to be among runs and contribute to the team’s cause,” she says. “I had recently resigned from my job with the Railways. But having played for Indian Railways, I can say that experience did definitely bring out the best in me every time I played for them. As the team is a commendable side in the circuit, I benefitted from the experience. That helped me evolve as a player and I am glad that it came in handy while playing for Tamil Nadu too.’’

Evolve indeed. The lanky batter gave a good account of herself in the five games. She remained unbeaten twice and excelled in the art of pacing. “Well, we were chasing in both the games and there were phases in the game that required me to accelerate and also bat till the end so that we would maintain the run rate throughout. There were a lot of calculations going in my mind when I was batting and I tried to remain unbeaten and it worked,’’ she says.

During the major part of last season there was hardly any sporting activity due to lockdown. For women cricketers it was worse and there were no competitions. “It was very difficult initially, but later I got accustomed to it. During the lockdown, a lot of thinking went into how to better myself as a cricketer; I worked on it once the lockdown got over. I generally have a good fitness regimen that I follow in the mornings and I have my evening sessions for skill development. After that, I have my recovery sessions,’’ she shares.

The TN team is getting accustomed to a new coach, learning to stay in a bio-secure atmosphere and adapt to changing times. “Hema Malini is our team coach. She spoke to me about my role and gave me the space to express myself. That helped. It is nice to be back. We have a lot of youngsters in the team and we were in the pre bio-bubble before we headed to Pune. We stayed together, had a good time and got to know each other, and that helped us as a team. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association too organised our camp quite well,” she shares.

Once you are out of the India team, it is difficult to make a comeback. But Thirushkamini is not too frazzled. “This is my third consecutive good domestic season. I was among runs including a hundred in my last series for India. Competition does not worry me, I see it as a opportunity to play good cricket. My mind set is to be among runs, stay fit and be determined. Hoping that this year, I will make a comeback to the India team.’’

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