Sushree Dibyadarshini has been Odisha’s star right from her debut. She made her mark in U19 and led India Green to the final in the U23 Challengers Trophy. Her senior debut came in 2012, and with some good performances to her name, she made it to the Team Velocity in the Women’s T20 Challenge. A wicket of Stafanie Taylor and a maiden over certainly did make heads turn. Months later, she found herself playing for India A. When everything was going right for her, a pandemic had put breaks on her route to play for India.
Now, as Senior T20 Trophy returns after a couple of years, Sushree has been working hard to put her name back in contention. “[The Senior T20 Trophy] is very important as we get to play it after two long years. We are eagerly waiting to perform.”
Odisha is one of the teams to get back to the training right after the Women’s One Day Trophy. She says that the long preparations will help them more. “Right after the one-day tournament, we were having the practice sessions for this [T20 Trophy] and having state camp with good facilities a few months before the tournament will help us more.”
She believes that right after 2017, many girls have come forward to play the game and Odisha women’s cricket has a bright future. “As we all know, after the 2017 World Cup, more women across India are taking up cricket as their profession, and this is a very good sign. We [Odisha] are having a good bunch of talented and hardworking cricketers as well. Some of them will have a chance to prove themselves in Senior T20 Trophy. I can proudly say Odisha women’s cricket has a bright future”.
Though she knows that the Women’s T20 Challenge is around the corner, Sushree wants to take it one step at a time. “Right now, I’m only focusing to do well with both bat and ball in Senior T20 Trophy… either be highest run-getter or most wicket-taker across India.”
She also adds that cricket itself is a big motivation for her and the urge to become a better version of herself keeps her going.
“Of course, to play for the country and win matches is the last step,” she adds.
She is also hopeful that the Women’s Indian Premier League will take place the next year and get to represent her favourite team- CSK or RCB.
“We are all glad and excited. Hopefully, it will happen, and more women will get an opportunity to play. My personal favourites are CSK and RCB. I hope to get into either of these”, she concludes.
Senior Women’s T20 Trophy 2022 will begin on April 15th.
Women’s Senior T20 League 2022 Full schedule – Penbugs
Interview by Dinesh SK / TamilNadu Women’s Cricket
