Twitter
Advertisement

How Sushma Verma stayed away from limelight and achieved a massive feat during WWC

While the spotlight was on the Mithalis and Harmanpreets of the Indian women's cricket team, not many are aware that Sushma Verma had the most dismissals behind the stumps in the 2017 Women's World Cup. The diminutive wicketkeeper, though, isn't bothered about the lack of attention on her as she talks about her late journey to the sport's highest level.

Latest News
article-main
Sushma Verma
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

In early 2016, when the Indian men's and women's cricket teams were in Australia at the same time, Sushma Verma met Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "I am also a wicketkeeper," was how she introduced herself to him. The former India captain replied: "good, good, best wishes".

The wishes seem to be working.

The 24-year-old has come a long way with her flashy stumpings and smart glovework, considering that she started playing cricket only seven years ago. The tiny wicketkeeper finished with the most dismissals behind the stumps in the ICC Women's World Cup (WWC) that ended last month.

But not many recognised her feat of 15 dismissals in the WWC – 7 catches and 8 stumpings.

"You are the first person to acknowledge that I ended the World Cup with most dismissals," Verma told this journalist at the press conference in Mumbai held after the team's arrival late last month following their runners-up finish.

While the spotlight was on her other high-profile team-mates like Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jhulan Goswami, Sushma was happy to be in one corner, having a quiet word with either a team-mate or fielding coach Biju George.

Yet, she isn't bothered by the lack of attention on her.

"I talk to very less people. My friends' circle comprises three or four people, and I spend my time with them," Sushma tells DNA in her leisure time, after having been with family members and attending to felicitation functions in her home state of Himachal Pradesh. She is also not the one to watch movies or TV. Instead, she loves to play snooker or indulge in photography.

Sushma does not fault people's lack of knowledge, either.

"It is OK," she says with a smile. "I am aware of what I have done, what I am doing and what I have to do. It is only now that people have started to follow women's cricket with interest."

Sushma, who has accepted the HP government's recent offer to be the deputy superintendent of police, is very well aware that wicketkeeping is a thankless job.

"If you keep well for 49 overs and miss a catch or a stumping in the 50th, nobody will remember the 49 overs of good work. I have tuned my mind to the extent that I (as a wicketkeeper) will not get appreciation, that I am a contributor who gets less credit, but still have to do my job. We are not playing to entertain the public. We play because we like to play and are passionate about it," Sushma says.

In the same vein, she reminds you about not many being aware that she is a joint world record holder for most stumpings in a women's T20 International – 4 against New Zealand in Bengaluru in 2015.

Indian women's team coach Tushar Arothe rates Sushma as the No. 1 wicketkeeper in the world. "She is the heart of the team as a wicketkeeper," Arothe told this paper.

Sushma seconds him.

"As a wicketkeeper, you are behind the stumps and can analyse each and every situation. You are in the best position to analyse the way the batter is playing, what should be the bowling strategy, what should be the bowling plans, etc. It is my duty to contribute to the team by giving those ideas to the captain or the vice-captain," Sushma says.

Staying away from home

Confidence has been Sushma's keyword. It is this attribute that has taken her to lofty heights in women's cricket.

She was 17 when she took to the sport. Until then, it was volleyball, handball and badminton at Portmore School in Shimla.

The love for cricket was there from an early age, though. "I come from a place that had very less exposure to sports. I did not play with leather ball till I joined the HPCA academy in Dharamsala. I used to play at home with ball made from socks. My grandfather and I used to read cricket magazines, follow men's cricket scores, listen to radio commentaries waking up at 3am whenever India toured New Zealand or West Indies," Sushma reminisces.

Since her entire family was into education, Sushma wanted to do something different. "HPCA was opening a residential academy in Dharamsala. I spoke with my family, the parents always supported me. They never said no to anything. That was a boost mentally for me," she speaks of her entry to cricket.

It was not a smooth ride for Sushma initially, though. In her first two years at the academy, she went home only once.

"Since I started to play cricket at 17, I needed to do a lot more than other players. People debuted for India at 17, and here I was starting to play cricket at 17. My personal coach, Pawan Singh at the academy initiated me into wicketkeeping. He had very less knowledge about wicketkeeping. We used to watch videos of Adam Gilchrist and later MS Dhoni and learn.

"My relatives including my grandfather did not know what I was doing in Dharamsala. In the first two years at the academy, I went home only once. I myself was not sure if I'd succeed in cricket. I did not leave home with the aim of playing for India. I just wanted to try my hand in cricket.

"I had to convince everyone that I was playing cricket. Everyone was shocked that a girl was playing cricket. Girls playing cricket was unheard of in my region those days. What the neighbours said sometimes mentally put you down. But I promised my parents that I would not let them down," she says.

Having made progress in the under-19 and zonal cricket, Sushma was selected to debut for India in 2013.

Sushma recalls: "Three months before I debuted for India, my grandfather expired. After every match and series, I would converse with him: 'you are watching from wherever you are and that you told me the only way to shut up people was by showing what I was capable of on the field'."

Despite making it to the Indian team, Sushma felt she did not know many technical aspects of wicketkeeping.

"Attending India camps and travelling with the Indian team helped me read (bowling) variations, how to read wickets, when the old ball turned. Credit goes to Anju (Jain) ma'am, (Munish) Bali sir. They gave me ideas on wicketkeeping and helped me out," Sushma says.

Even after beginning to play for India regularly, Sushma was still learning the tricks of the trade.

"The kind of hard work I have been trying to put in the last four years, I came to know how wicketkeeping was difficult. I never had good coaches. I knew all about wicketkeeping after being selected in the Indian team," she says.

"The more time you spend on the ground, the more you learn about wicketkeeping. There was this game against Thailand in the World Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka earlier this year. They were not technically good. They'd leave any ball and play any ball. I did very poor wicketkeeping in that match. I realised that the better the opponents, less are the chances of the ball coming to you and vice-versa. And, against a technically poor team, I needed to be more aware," she adds.

Basking in the glory

With so much spotlight on the World Cup finalists after their homecoming, Sushma switched off her phone for four-five days and spent quality time with her family before returning to her training routine.

Not that she wasn't enjoying the adulation.

"The love and support we got from the people, it looked like we won the World Cup," Sushma points out, echoing what most of her team-mates also felt.

But she rues the fact that she got out for nought in the final against England, which India lost by nine runs. "If I had contributed with the bat in the final, if I had played two-three overs, the scenario would have been different," Sushma feels.

That said, Kapil Dev's World Cup winning team in 1983 changed the way the world looked at Indian cricket. Sushma draws a parallel with the current team as far as women's cricket is concerned.

"We had to bring a similar revolution in women's cricket," Sushma says. "The future of women's cricket was on us. We had to do for Jhulan (Goswami) and Mithali (Raj). This might be their last World Cup. Till the 90 overs in the final, we played very good cricket. In the last 10 overs, we collapsed and lost the game," she says.

The final has taught Sushma and her team-mates a big lesson.

"It is a learning process for all the youngsters who are representing for the first time in World Cup. I'm sure this World Cup loss has taught us how to handle the situation in front of 28,000-plus crowd," Sushma says. "For the next World Cup, we need more and more practice."

Her long term goal is to win the World Cup for India, even if it means doing so by being under the radar.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement