Delhi domestic team was never short of producing great cricketers. Now, to top all of them, we have Virat Kohli. Coached by the same coach, Priya Punia is definitely one of the greatest talents to come from the Delhi domestic team.
Though she hails from Jaipur, Delhi has been her second home and the place has given back to her with the Indian cap. Undoubtedly one of the stylish players to play the game, Priya Punia’s cover drive is a joy.
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To come to the place where she is now, the struggles aren’t less either but her father shared her burden or lived the dream with her right from taking a loan to build her pitch so that she can practice to being her coach.
Cricket was Priya Punia’s choice when she had to choose from Badminton and cricket. She was once bullied faced sexism when her father wanted her to join the cricket camp. Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Despite being constantly knocking the doors of the selectors for years, she had to wait till this year to make her international debut. In the interim, there was jaundice, fractured thumb. Still, she kept going and the motivation to play for the country kept her going.
She did knock the selectors’ door but this time firmly to get into the team.
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If there is one thing that never changed in Priya Punia’s life is that she has that urge to improve herself with time to time. She has that knack of working hard for perfection.
From being shy and quiet to be fierce with the bat (did I mention her role model also shifted from Dravid to Kohli?), the growth is massive. She learnt how to pick her deliveries and knows how to stay patient to leave as well.
In recent times, she learnt how to pick up the gaps, rotate the strike and most importantly, play lofted shots. You can see the improvement in the strike rate, something that has been bothering her for a while. Mithali Raj did play the main role in this change and there were many seniors as well.
At 23, Priya Punia still has a long way to go when it comes to the international circuit. Nevertheless, if there is a thing that I can say for sure is that she is here to stay and who knows with her and constant improvement she can break millions of records as well.
Happy Birthday, Priya Punia! 🙂
