Cricket is her cup of tea

At an age when girls prefer Barbie dolls and kitchen sets, this little champ was proud to hold a bat and walk into the cricket field. Mastering wicket keeping, she gradually gained the title of the best batsman in the team.
With three major fractures and over 20 state-level tournaments in the last eight years, this 18-year-old has come a long way. Meet Sneha Chacko, a young girl who has carved a niche for herself in a men's domain - cricket.

‘Take me seriously’
Sneha started playing cricket at 10, just by chance. In the evenings when all the kids of the colony gathered in the playground, cricket was chosen by majority of the kids as there were not many girls in the neighbourhood.
After they shifted to their new home, one of their neighbours who was a professional cricket player saw Sneha playing cricket and he suggested her parents to give her a formal training. Playing for four months under a professional coach, Sneha represented her school team at CJM against St Columbus School. She hit 32 runs in six overs.
"This was the game when actually everybody accepted that I play well. This was when even my coach took my game seriously," says Sneha. It was here that she got noticed.

‘Luck, too, plays a role’
Sneha was selected to the Delhi Women Cricket team (Junior) in the Ranji Trophy for the first time in class 9. It was just a year of formal coaching and she easily got through the selections. The second time she was selected in this tournament was when she was in class 11: this time in the Seniors U-19 team.
By this time, she had established herself as a batsman as well. Though luck has not been much on her side, as per Sneha, the love for the sport keeps her moving ahead.
She says, "Every year, just before the start of the season, I get some injury. I have fractured my leg thrice, and a couple of ligament injuries have also come my way. There was just one thing that keeps me going, Cricket and the charm of the game."

Little time for hobbies
The major part of Sneha's day goes in practising cricket. She invests the remaining time in studies but sketching is also her favourite pastime. She also loves expressing herself thorough poems. "I learnt sketching from my sister and poetry comes on its own," says Sneha. Reading books is her another favourite.

‘Didi has always motivated me’
Sneha's sister Cella Saran has been a very big support for her. "There were times when I felt that the affection and passion for the sport was dying. I felt like quitting at times. But then, didi didn't let me," she says.

Favourite song: Love the way you lie, Rihanna
Favourite movie: Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
Favourite cuisine: North Indian
Favourite dish: Tandoori Chicken
Favourite book: Namesake/ The Zoya factor
Favourite place: Goa Feats:
• Represented the Delhi U-19 Ranji team from 2004 till 2009.
• Played for the Delhi senior women's team in 2004 for matches held at Haldwani (Uttaranchal).
• Represented North Zone for inter-zonal matches
held at Pune in 2007-2008, Vizag in 2010 and Dharamshala in 2011
• Acquired a permanent place in the Delhi senior team in 2010 and played all the one day matches as well as t20 matches
— Raushni Bhagia