In a man`s world

Meet Nisha Sharma, a budding cricketer.

Being a cricketer in India is a matter of pride but if you are a woman cricketer, then the path is not a cake walk. But braving all odds, Nisha Sharma, batting maestro and a medium pace bowler has shown the way to others, playing more than 64 state and national-level cricket tournaments in the last eight years.
From hitting 124 runs in 10 overs in an inter-state match to being part of the Haryana Cricket team for the past four years, she has earned many accolades.

Early starter
Nisha started playing cricket at the age of 13 years. Her knack for cricket was revealed when she came for a local match at Nahar Singh stadium, Faridabad. Coach Rajkumar saw that her shots had the fire of a professional batsman. Rajkumar later on introduced Nisha to Krishan Lal Verma, a famous professional coach in the city under whom she trained for five years and finally got into the cricketing team at the district level.

Only cricket on her mind
The game takes away almost her whole day. The remaining time is invested in studies. Morning and evening practice sessions and the hunger to achieve more and more in this sport never gave her time for any other hobby.

Injuries never deter her
Recently, when she was playing the inter-university match held on December 2 at Lucknow for Delhi University, she injured herself in the first ball itself. The ball directly hit her eye but still she carried on with her batting. Braving the injury she scored 41 runs.  

Family, the biggest support
Her parents and her coach have always encouraged her to take up this game. "More than me my parents are happy whenever I perform well and get selected for Ranji or any other tournament."

Best moment
Nisha was one of the team members of the Indian team in the super seven series when she was in tenth standard and grabbed the Player of the Series award.

Lot of scope ahead
Nisha is now happy that after BCCI has started promoting women's cricket, more and more girls have come up and the dying women's cricket is being revived. "More and more girls are coming up and new talent is getting a chance to play."

Idol and dream
Nisha idolises former Indian cricket team captain Mithali Raj and wants to become like her. One day she wants to be a part of the Indian Women's team and bring laurels to the country.

Plays:
•    Recently represented the Haryana team in the Ranji trophy match held at Himachal Pradesh
•    Playing for Haryana Senior Women's team for four years·     
•    Represents the Delhi University team from past two years

--Priyanka Nair