‘Jhulu di’ gave me my first cricket kit: Saika

Mumbai: If the idea behind launching the Women’s Premier League was to pitchfork India’s domestic players into the spotlight, then the tournament has already begun achieving its purpose.Five games into the WPL, the current purple cap holder (leading wicket-taker in the tournament) is the relatively unknown Saika Ishaque of the Mumbai Indians. In two matches, the 27-year-old left-arm spinner has taken six wickets@6.16 at an economy rate of 5.16 — a fabulous performance indeed considering wickets at both, the DY Patil and Brabourne Stadium, have been flat with nothing for the bowlers there.Saika’s show has been one of the key factors in MI getting off to a perfect start, with victories in their first two games. The tweaker took a wicket in every over while running through the Gujarat Giants with figures of 4 for 11 at the DY Patil Stadium in the WPL opener, and then dismissed Sophie Devine & Disha Kasat while taking 2-26 against RCB at CCI. “It’s not that I didn’t even imagine being the highest wicket-taker after two matches in WPL. It feels good to wear the Purple Cap,” Saika told TOI ahead of MI’s third game, against Delhi Capitals, at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.Her recipe for success is fairly simple: “I’m just focus on bowling one ball at a time, and bowl as per the team’s plan. That’s it. Wicket Naseeb se milti hai (Luck too plays a part).”Saika, who hails from Park Circuit in Kolkata and had an humble upbringing, owes much of what she has achieved in the game so far to India’s legendary fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who’s now the mentor and bowling coach at MI, and must certainly have played a key role in the franchise buying Saika for just Rs 10 lakhs at the WPL auction last month. “Jhulu di gave me my first cricket kit. She has guided and supported me since childhood. She has played a massive role in my career,” Saika revealed.“I learnt how to bowl left-arm spin from my coach (former Bengal spinner) Shivsagar Singh, who too was a left-arm spinner. Jhulan di and Harman di (captain Harmanpret Kaur) and the other coaches at MI too have been very supportive,” she said. “Harman di keeps cheering me up when I come on to bowl, while our head coach (Charlotte Edwards) keeps telling me that I’m the best and that I’ll do well.”Before he passed away about 15 years back, her father Mohammad Ishaque had just one dream for Saika: “I’m playing cricket because of my dad. He had a dream that I will play for India one day,” she said, turning emotional. If she sustains her form in WPL, Saika can stake a genuine claim for her maiden India cap. “I’m determined that I’ll make the most of a stage like the WPL to prove my worth. It’s my dream to play for India too. Rest I leave up to God. If I perform well, I’ll be picked for India,” she said.