Whatever it takes – Shreyanka Patil on the unbridled joy of returning to cricket

Every individual goes through a major transformation at some point that changes them individually.

Shreyanka Patil went through something similar when she was injured. However, it was eventually the realisation that she would make it back to the ground in time and from there what followed was sheer perseverance from Shreyanka.

Talking on Big Basket presents RCB Podcast, Shreyanka said, “It was epic because suddenly I got that rush, and then I was like all over confident, that bubbly character came out of me, and then I was so motivated because of that one call that's happened, and then I'm like, now it's done, just counting the days backwards till the WPL first match happens, and I'm like, no way I am going to miss this one.”

She further added, “So whatever it takes, hard work, discipline, I am going to tick all the boxes possible for my aims. And we sat, we made one month's planner, we stuck to it, and then this time when I actually flew from Bangalore to Mumbai, I travelled peacefully, and I'm like, I'm set right now. Because I played domestic, I played CPL, I wasn't feeling that confidence with my bowling.”

Revealing how RCB’s Head Coach, Malolan Rangarajan, helped her, she said, “I spoke to Malo. But in West Indies, you still have that hunger. I mean, you come in with a trophy, so that hunger state came across, you know, that must have been in a way a game-changing experience for you then. Because that was my first tournament after like 14 months or 15 months, and I was just grateful to be on the field.”

She continued, “No matter what my performance was, we win, we lose, I was just so happy and blessed to be on the field. Like, whenever I catch the graph, I feel that energy, I feel that vibe, and I'm like, this cannot match anything. Like, this is my happiness, and this is my place. So I just enjoyed each and every moment. I mean, I didn't really perform to my ability, I didn't get the result, what I wanted personally with my bowling. But then, during the tournament and then just lifting that trophy gives you that extra motivation, extra confidence to just move forward from there because obviously not played for a year, and then winning a cup.”

Shreyanka concluded, “And then I actually came up with a big performance in the finals with the bat because I did not bat it for none of the games, and then final match, and I'm like, final. And I'm like, okay, I'm really firing up the whole, all the games, and then I got a chance to bat that day, and I got two boundaries of my first two balls, and that was like a game-changing innings, so I was happy. I love it!”