She was barely two years old when her father brought her a plastic cricket bat. He would throw plastic or soft tennis balls at her, again and again, to shape one of her earliest habits — swatting the sphere away with that bat. Then, when she was around four, he started dragging her to the gym where he worked as an instructor. Soon, he made a concrete pitch at the local junior government college and set up the nets, where he bowled “at least a thousand” balls at her.
On Sunday, G Rami Reddy’s single-minded obsession paid off spectacularly.
At the U19 T20 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur, his daughter Trisha Gongadi emerged as India’s brightest cricketing star, picking up three wickets and leading her team to the title with a nine-wicket win over South Africa.
It was father G Rami Reddy’s vision that perfected Trisha’s journey to become the first Indian U-19 centurion. (Special Arrangement)
In the 10 innings prior to the final, the opening batter had piled a hundred — the first U-19 Indian woman cricketer to do so — two half-centuries and two 40s, at an average of 64.8.
In the final, every time South Africa looked to change gears, Trisha came up with a breakthrough. For her brisk leg-spin, which brought her 10 wickets in the competition, and for being the leading run-scorer, she was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in addition to being the Player of the Final.
“It means everything,” Trisha said later. “I have no words to say. I would like to dedicate this to my father because he is here. I don’t think I would be here without him. I want to play for my country and win more matches.”
For Reddy, the mission was to condition Trisha’s muscle memory in cricket. “In ball games, you have to play as many balls as possible to imbibe it into your muscle memory,” he told The Indian Express. “I believe when children are surrounded by certain things at a young age, they start grasping them. I thought she would understand where the middle (of the bat) is and would develop that coordination.”
Story continues below this ad
“Usually, everyone starts at around eight years but there will be too much competition starting at that stage. So I made sure that she started at two,” he said. “There is only one life and I decided to give her the best.”
In his memoir ‘Black and White: The Way I See It’, Richard Williams, the father of Serena and Venus, writes that he brought a second-hand tennis racquet even before his first daughter Yetunde was born. Andre Agassi’s father hung tennis balls over his crib, so that his eyes got used to the ball’s movements. László Polgár, a psychologist, started training his three daughters in chess from the age of four.
Reddy’s character fits into that genre of sports lore. A hockey player at the U-16 level for Hyderabad, he gave up the dream after moving to Bhadrachalam, about 300 km from the Telangana capital. Cricket facilities in the town were basic, but Reddy ensured that her daughter’s body stood the trials of a sportsperson. “I started early and made sure there was not too much load on her joints. I did it all scientifically,” he said.
Importantly, he ensured Trisha ate right. He set a diet chart and figured out the ideal amounts of proteins and nutrients she required. “No supplements were used. Everything was homemade. Since she used to play and practise a lot from a young age, we had to give a lot of protein,” he said.
caption id=”attachment_9813425″ align=”alignnone” width=”450″] Trisha with Mithali Raj and her coach John Manoj (R).[/caption]
Story continues below this ad
So passionate was he about making Trisha a cricketer that he didn’t send her to school for some time and arranged private tuitions. “I thought it would strain her,” he Reddy said. When she was finally enrolled, she attended schools for three hours, while devoting six-eight hours a day to cricket. “If she had been in the orthodox schooling system, it would have been highly unlikely that she would have played for her country,” he said.
When Trisha was 11, Reddy put her into the famous St. John’s Cricket Academy in Hyderabad, where Trisha’s maternal grandparents stayed. Shortly, he too packed up for Hyderabad, quitting his job. “My father-in-law was finding it hard to take her to practice sessions. They had a minor accident while going to practice once, and after that I decided to shift to Hyderabad,” he said.
At the academy, which has produced stalwarts such as VVS Laxman and Mithali Raj, her hand-eye coordination startled coach John Manoj. She was so good that she started playing in age-group teams far above her age. “She played U-16s at eight for Hyderabad. At 11 years, she played U-19s and U-23s at 12. She started to play for the senior team at 13,” Manoj said.
Endless hours hitting tennis balls from the age of two conditioned Trisha’s power-hitting skills, accentuated by her top-hand grip and absolute devotion to her craft. The practice enables her to judge the length fast, Manoj said. In fact, the coach is at a loss of words to explain her talent. “Why did Sachin Tendulkar, at the age of 16, play for the country?” asked Manoj, before adding, “Because he was an exception. And this girl is an exception.”
Story continues below this ad
Her brisk leg-breaks have brought important wickets too, like in Sunday’s final. “She has a different action. So, initially, if you have not played her, it takes you a couple of overs. So, she gets 2-3 overs in before you even realise it,” said Hyderabad coach Vidyut Jaisimha.
Back at the Academy, she dazzled even Mithali with her variations. As Manoj recalled, “Mithali would tell me, ‘Try and focus on her. I think she will come good in the future’.”
It was father G Rami Reddy’s vision that perfected Trisha’s journey to become the first Indian U-19 centurion. (Special Arrangement)
Trisha with Mithali Raj and her coach John Manoj (R).[/caption]