The making of 'Vishnu Dada'

Bengaluru: ‘Vishnu Dada’ had a dream from the time she was a young lass, lugging her kitbag around the streets of Mysuru. She wanted to play cricket for India. She did on Thursday. 

‘Vishnu Dada’ loves to tuck into her mother’s ‘mudde, saaru, palya’. She will get to do so when she makes that trip back from the site (Mumbai) of her India debut.  

Her mother - G Thara Sateesh - is waiting. Her father - Satheesh N - is chuffed. Her elder sister - Sandhya Suhas - is elated. 

All the residents of BEML Layout in Mysuru are awaiting the return of ‘Vishnu Dada’, or as they call her beyond cricket fields: Shubha. 

Shubha Sateesh made her international debut for India against England in the one-off Test at the DY Patil stadium. 

Better yet, the 24-year-old left everyone in a daze, blitzing a 76-ball 69 with 13 boundaries as India pranced to a commanding 410 for 7 on the opening day. 

Shubha is the face of the new generation and comes with all the spunk that entails.

“First of all, she is as fit as most boys her age so she would always fight to play with them. She was never afraid of them,” says childhood coach Rajat Satish. 

“Most girls her age are scared of leather balls, but this girl will hunt it down and demand that she’s positioned where the ball goes the most. She came to our academy (Bowl Out Cricket Academy) in 2018 and she already had what it took to go to the next level.”

Shubha’s love for Mysuru-born Kannada cine star Vishnuvardhan, who played the titular role of Vishnu Dada decades ago, is evident in the nickname given to her by her academy mates, but it’s her chutzpah that earned it. 

“She carries herself with so much confidence,” says Rajat. “She is not afraid of anybody, anywhere. She will take on anyone because she knows she will win. I don’t think I have seen her have any doubts, ever.

“While she is confident, she is also especially keen to learn so she naturally learns things very quickly,” he adds. 

Despite the lack of access to cricket for girls in the mofussil, Shubha was able to find her way into the State’s age-group system at a fairly young age. 

While it is her ability with the bat that has raised her to the spotlight at this moment, the selectors in the State were taken by her for her ability to dictate the game with her fielding. 

“She was always a good fielder,” says Satheesh. “I used to play cricket and show her a few things, but I think she was always a natural. All she does is play sports all the time so her coordination is exceptional.”

When asked if she perceived it as a problem early on, Thara says: “She was very good at studies too. Also, we don’t like to tell our girls what to do. They are smart and they know what they want. She’s happy, she’s always happy. That’s all we care about.”

Wearing optimism on her sleeves, Shubha found success with the senior state team and eventually earned an India A call-up a month or so ago. A couple of good knocks there, and she was Test bound. She also got a job with the Railways. 

If that wasn’t enough, she was even pouched by the Royal Challengers Bangalore during the Women’s Premier League Auction for Rs 10 lakh. 

She then becomes the third high-profile player from Karnataka to hog the limelight after Vrinda Dinesh and Shreyanka Patil in recent times. 

Their stories may not be the same, but it sure does seem like Karnataka are doing something right when it comes to women's cricket. 

As for the Satheeshs, they want their ‘naughty girl’ back home so they can shower her with as much love as they can afford. 

It’s fairly obvious that it isn’t a household of open emotions - a middle-class upbringing will do that to you at times - but they are looking to find a way to show appreciation for what their little girl has achieved. 

Perhaps they needn’t look beyond ‘mudde, saaru, palya’. “She loves it,” offers Thara.