Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 1 : India's Under-19 T20 World Cup-winning captain Niki Prasad opened up on her team's second successive world title win and her debut stint in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which she feels will help India win plenty of senior-level trophies in future in women's cricket.
In an interview with ANI, Niki spoke about team India's second successive U19 Women's T20 World Cup win, sharing the locker room with inaugural U19 WC-winning skipper Shafali Varma and Australian legend Meg Lanning in the WPL for Delhi Capitals (DC), her learnings from both tournaments, etc.
Speaking about lifting the ICC U19 Women's World Cup after defeating South Africa by nine wickets in the title clash earlier in February, Niki said that while the first title win was special, the second one felt even more special as the team pulled off back-to-back title wins.
"It definitely feels very special, and I am really proud of my team and really happy that we won the World Cup again. And obviously, winning the first World Cup is quite special, but winning it for the second time is even more special. You have done it back to back. And that feeling is, you can't describe that feeling, but it is a very happy moment," she said.
Speaking about her learnings from the tournament, Niki said that one thing that the tournament taught her that a team cannot win matches consistently by relying on just one player or two, rather its an effort of all 11 players that helps a team win regularly.
"There was involvement from all our players and we wanted to express ourselves. And that is what we kept doing throughout the tournament. And that is one thing which I have learned that, you know, you always need to go out there on the field and really have that mindset of dominating and really showing what you can do," she added.
The tournament created several stars for India, such as the top-run-getter Gongadi Trisha (309 runs in seven matches at an average of over 77, with a century and fifty at a strike rate of over 147), G Kamalini (143 runs in seven matches at an average of 35.75 with two fifties) and spin duo of Vaishnavi Sharma (17 wickets in six matches at an average of 4.35 with best figures of 5/5) and Aayushi Shukla (14 wickets in seven matches at an average of 5.71 with best figures of 4/8).
Speaking about her interaction with Shafali, the winning captain of first edition of the tournament, Niki recalled that the explosive batter asked her to enjoy and have fun as a captain and as a team, express themselves freely.
"After winning, after I came to DC, I got a very grand welcome by them and by very big players. Also, when I met Shefali, the first thing she did was give me a very big hug. And she told me that she is proud of us and really happy that we did it again. And in this DC team, there are a lot of big international players and big Indian players."
"And obviously, each and every day, there are some learnings that you take from them. And there has been a lot of learnings and I am just grabbing whatever information I get and learning a lot from them," she continued.
Niki also said that she has a lot of batting-centric interactions with Australian legend and multi-time World Cup winning captain, Meg Lanning, who leads the team.
"And also on the field, I just keep noticing whatever she does on the field and whatever she changes she is doing. And the way she talks to the bowlers, I keep, you know, seeing that and noticing all that," added Niki.
On winning a 'Player of the Match' award for a calm and composed knock of 35 during her WPL debut against inaugural champions Mumbai Indians, Niki said that she was disappointed as she could not finish the game.
"But it is all part of the game and that is something which I learnt. And, you know, going forward, I know what I will have to do when I am there in that situation. And obviously, getting that Player of the Match in the first, you know, in the debut game of mine, it is quite special," she added.
The young cricketer is also optimistic is that the WPL will help the Indian senior team win World Cup gold eventually, something which has not happened so far despite their promising outings in knockout stages in recent years across 50-over and 20-over World Cups.
"With WPL coming into picture and, you know, a lot of Indian players, a lot of young Indian players getting to play with big international players and other foreign players. I think that is a very great opportunity. The growth which we have seen in the Indian, you know, women's team has been significant. And it is just a matter of time where we, you know, really give our best and, you know, we win trophies. From there on, there would not be looking back. We will just keep winning after that. It is just a matter of time.," she said.
Niki also revealed what has played a big part in her memorable journey as a player so far, saying, "PUMA signed me before I had played any India game. To receive such backing and getting everything you want from such an entity, is big for a young player."