A broken bike mirror changed it all!

Vidarbha’s India batswoman Bharati Fulmali (backrow centre) with parents and sisters.

By Mahesh S Kale :

WHEN a smashing cricket shot broke the rear view mirror of a bike passing by, that’s when the father of a little girl realised that his daughter has an exceptional talent of hitting the cricket ball hard. The small incident which took place in the life of the Vidarbha’s star batswoman Bharati Fulmali introduced her to the world of cricket. The top order opener, who made her India debut against England in 2019 at Guwahati, always had an interest in cricket but she actually came across the leather ball cricket after a small incident. “Bharati always had an inclination towards cricket. She used to play with plastic or rubber ball in the evening in the bylanes with boys.

One evening while Bharati was batting, she played a cracking shot, which unfortunately broke the mirror of a motorbike passing by on the road. The biker being upset for obvious reason came shouting at the boys but when he found that the shot was played by a little girl, he was not only shocked but his temper also took a back seat. I too, apologised to the bike owner on Bharati’s behalf and finally the biker relented. After this particular incident I realised that Bharati has an amazing talent of driving the ball and that’s when I decided to enroll her at a professional coaching academy,” said Bharati’s father Shrikrushna Fulmali who is a professor. Bharati, who was a part of the Trailblazers team in Women’s IPL 2018-2019 season, actually had a very tough start to her professional cricketing journey.

“Initially the Principal of Shrikrupa High School, Amravati told us to check out at the Shree Hanuman Vyayam Prasark Mandal (HVPM) for cricket coaching, but to my disappointment they only trained boys above the age of five. Then a famous sports shop owner and a renowned social worker in Amravati, Govind Kasat informed me that cricket coaching for girls is available only in Nagpur at Mujumdar’s Cricket Academy but sadly that option was also ruled out since I didn’t had enough budget for it. After a few months I read an article in the newspaper regarding World Cricket Academy (WCA) which was coaching girls at that time.

I enrolled Bharati at the WCA organised by Romi Bhinder Sir and she finally got the taste of professional cricket,” said Shrikrushna while interacting with ‘The Hitavada’. Bharati, who has captained Vidarbha’s senior women’s team, Under-23 team and U-19 team on several occasions, got the real push to her cricketing career because of coach Sandeep Gawande. “Gawande Sir helped her a lot. Bharati’s hard work and Gawande Sir’s guidance made her reach this far. It was Gawande Sir who told me that she has the talent and she plays strokes with great confidence. He knew she would reach great heights and even I had the same feeling that someday she would be a part of the Indian team,” stated Shrikrushna who himself used to play cricket during his college days. Shrikrushna added, “Bharati was in class eight, she must be 13-14 years old when she was selected for Vidarbha Under-19 team.

Bharati was never fond of studies but she managed her education along with sports very well. I am also thankful to lecturers and professors like Prabhakarrao Vaidya, Dinanath Navase who supported her in the journey.” The hard-hitting batswoman who is now looked after by BCCI has faced situations in past when her father was not in a position to afford kitbags, bats, balls and other equipment. “Cricketing goods are highly expensive. Initially I used to borrow money from friends and relatives so that I could buy her kitbags and other things. People around me used to say why do you invest so much on your daughter. Being a proud father of three daughters I always wanted to support them in every situation.

Even when my financial position was not that great I used to bring bat and balls for Bharati so that she could practice. Her first bat cost me around 5,000 rupees. But now I am happy that BCCI is looking after her needs,” Shrikrushna said. Shrikrushna, who has seen several amazing moments in Bharati’s cricketing career said, still remembers her selection in the Indian team. “Bharati’s selection in the Indian team is something I can never forget. After all its a dream come true for both Bharati and myself. Also when I saw Bharati on the television for the first time during the 2018-2019 Challenger Series my happiness knew no bounds. One of my favourite moments was when she scored 122 not out during the inter-college championship that was played under the banner of Amravati University. I was literally dancing on the ground when she scored the 100th run,” concluded the proud father Shrikrushna.