NEW DELHI: Psychology is a scientific study of the mind and behaviour that helps explain how people think, act and respond — and India’s star opener Pratika Rawal seems to have mastered that balance between mind and sport . A psychology graduate with over 75 percent marks, Pratika has found ways 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 — observes the bowler’s body language, run-up, and eye contact, analyses every movement before facing the ball.
And the ritual has paid off handsomely.
Playing her maiden Women’s ODI World Cup, Pratika has scored in every match so far — 37 vs Sri Lanka, 31 vs Pakistan, 37 vs South Africa, and a brilliant 75 vs Australia. With 180 runs in four matches at an average of 45, she is currently India’s highest run-getter in the tournament.
"She is a silent 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 it all happened because of the psychology she studied in college. She has always been an academically bright student, and the 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 analyser of the game," said Pradeep, a BCCI-certified Level-II umpire with the DDCA.
Carrying books along with her cricket kit is routine for the 25-year-old, who believes books are therapy. Her father recalls how it all began during her school days at Modern School , Barakhamba Road, where she scored 92.5 percent in her CBSE board exams before earning her psychology degree from Jesus & Mary College in New Delhi.
She also won gold in basketball at the 64th School National Games in 2019.
"Kuch books carry karti hai apne saath (She always carries some books with her). Whenever she gets time, she reads. That is something she loves. She was academically really bright," her father added.
Her cricket journey began when a six-year-old Pratika was spotted by her father playing with friends at a park near their home. Seeing her talent, Pradeep — himself a cricketer and now a certified umpire — took her to coach Sharvan Kumar, who has trained the likes of Ishant Sharma and Harshit Rana, at the Rohtak Road Gymkhana Cricket Club .
"I used to show her videos of Sachin Tendulkar and his best knocks. I had a collection of those videos. Brian Lara and Steve Waugh too. I wanted to play for India and it was a dream that was unfulfilled but I wanted my daughter to reach this level. She likes Alyssa Healy a lot. I am sure she will get time to talk to her and take tips from her 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 jibes for training among boys, but instead of getting distracted, she channelled it. Facing sharp, fast deliveries, sharing nets, and fielding sessions with boys toughened her both mentally and technically.
"Ek bhi ladki nahi thi academy mein (There wasn’t a single girl in the academy). But for her father, I decided to train Pratika. She’s a natural talent. The only challenge was that she had to train with boys, so she learned tough cricket from the start," Sharvan said.
"She never liked bowling; she always loved batting and wanted to play long innings. She was always punctual — balancing school, cricket, and tuitions. At exactly 7pm, 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 tuition). She would carry both her school bag and cricket kit together," he said.
"You know why she has reached this level? Not just because she scores runs — but because she scores consistently. She often says she wants to play for the country as long as possible, and for that, she needs to keep scoring to cement her place amid so much competition," the coach added.
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 — observes the bowler’s body language, run-up, and eye contact, analyses every movement before facing the ball.
And the ritual has paid off handsomely.
Playing her maiden Women’s ODI World Cup, Pratika has scored in every match so far — 37 vs Sri Lanka, 31 vs Pakistan, 37 vs South Africa, and a brilliant 75 vs Australia. With 180 runs in four matches at an average of 45, she is currently India’s highest run-getter in the tournament.
"She is a silent 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 it all happened because of the psychology she studied in college. She has always been an academically bright student, and the 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 analyser of the game," said Pradeep, a BCCI-certified Level-II umpire with the DDCA.
Carrying books along with her cricket kit is routine for the 25-year-old, who believes books are therapy. Her father recalls how it all began during her school days at Modern School , Barakhamba Road, where she scored 92.5 percent in her CBSE board exams before earning her psychology degree from Jesus & Mary College in New Delhi.
She also won gold in basketball at the 64th School National Games in 2019.
"Kuch books carry karti hai apne saath (She always carries some books with her). Whenever she gets time, she reads. That is something she loves. She was academically really bright," her father added.
Her cricket journey began when a six-year-old Pratika was spotted by her father playing with friends at a park near their home. Seeing her talent, Pradeep — himself a cricketer and now a certified umpire — took her to coach Sharvan Kumar, who has trained the likes of Ishant Sharma and Harshit Rana, at the Rohtak Road Gymkhana Cricket Club .
"I used to show her videos of Sachin Tendulkar and his best knocks. I had a collection of those videos. Brian Lara and Steve Waugh too. I wanted to play for India and it was a dream that was unfulfilled but I wanted my daughter to reach this level. She likes Alyssa Healy a lot. I am sure she will get time to talk to her and take tips from her 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 jibes for training among boys, but instead of getting distracted, she channelled it. Facing sharp, fast deliveries, sharing nets, and fielding sessions with boys toughened her both mentally and technically.
"Ek bhi ladki nahi thi academy mein (There wasn’t a single girl in the academy). But for her father, I decided to train Pratika. She’s a natural talent. The only challenge was that she had to train with boys, so she learned tough cricket from the start," Sharvan said.
"She never liked bowling; she always loved batting and wanted to play long innings. She was always punctual — balancing school, cricket, and tuitions. At exactly 7pm, 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 tuition). She would carry both her school bag and cricket kit together," he said.
"You know why she has reached this level? Not just because she scores runs — but because she scores consistently. She often says she wants to play for the country as long as possible, and for that, she needs to keep scoring to cement her place amid so much competition," the coach added.
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