New Delhi, Jan 15 : Set to enter the upcoming U19 Women's T20 World Cup in Malaysia as defending champions, there will be high hopes from India to replicate their title-winning performance from the inaugural edition in 2023.

Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Bhavika Ahire aims to excel in the U19 World Cup, given that India will be playing in conditions where they won the inaugural U19 Women's Asia Cup last month. 'I am very excited about representing India in a World Cup for the first time. The coaches have been good, all of them back us and give lots of confidence before every match.

'We will take a lot of confidence from the Asia Cup win from that because our team bonding was good there, and everyone was backing each other. So, with that confidence, we will now go for winning the World Cup.

'I understood the ground conditions during the Asia Cup win, and that information will be useful in the World Cup. Winning the Asia Cup was good, but I can improve and do better in the World Cup,' said Bhavika in an exclusive conversation with IANS before leaving for the all-important tournament.

Based in Pune, Maharashtra, Bhavika's cricketing journey began when she played tennis-ball cricket with boys in as a kid in her neighborhood. In 2017, as a fourth grader, Bhavika formally began her journey to playing professional cricket by going to Om Sai Cricket Academy, with Sanjay Hadke as her coach.

'It took time to shift from playing tennis-ball cricket to being in professional cricket circuit, like having a proper batting stance and taking catches with the leather ball. In the beginning, I was focused on catches and batting for a year at the academy.

'After that, the coach started giving me matches. I also started keeping side-by-side. It took some time to get used to it, as I used to bowl previously. But nothing was good for me in bowling, so, I started keeping and began to enjoy it.

Bhavika, a glasses wearer, idolises the batting style of Smriti Mandhana, who also wore spectacles during her early days as an Indian cricketer, and the wicketkeeping techniques of M.S. Dhoni.

'As a left-handed batter, Smriti's cover drive is my favourite shot, which I also like to play. I've learned a lot from watching Dhoni sir's stumpings, which is also my favourite way to dismiss batters. I have a lot of memories of watching his matches and the keeping dismissals he inflicted, from which I took tons of cues," she said.

Bhavika's domestic cricket journey began from the U15 level in Maharashtra, where her 115 not out in one of the practice matches against Baroda propelled her debut in the inaugural edition of the age-group tournament in 2022 as the side's captain-cum-keeper-batter.

On debut against Mumbai, Bhavika hit 129 off 107 balls against Mumbai and ended the tournament as the fourth-highest run-getter with 378 runs in a list topped by her now India U19 team-mate G Kamalini (458 runs).

In 2023, Bhavika made her Maharashtra U19 debut, but it was in the 2024/25 U19 Women's Challenger Trophy where she impressed everyone with her off-side shots, sweeps and occasional scoop while amassing 126 runs at an average of 63 and strike rate of 134.04 for Team D in Raipur.

Impressive performance in camps organised by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) paved the way for Bhavika to be in India U19 'A' team for the tri-series featuring South Africa, followed by making the cut for India's squad in the victorious Asia Cup campaign and now the World Cup.

She also receives mentorship from former Indian cricketer Soniya Dabir-Tanskale, who played four ODIs and 13 T20Is. 'She has given me good guidelines, and said about how one's approach should be when playing in higher levels of the game,' added Bhavika.

Soniya recalled her first sighting of Bhavika in 2022, when she was there to give personal coaching to a player who used to practice with her Pimpri Chinchwad. Seeing Bhavika bat twice, where her amazing power in hitting the shots impressed Soniya and quickly told Hadke that she would definitely play for Maharashtra's U19 team in 2023.

Speaking to IANS, Soniya explained her conversations with Bhavika often center on seeing the pressure of meeting expectations as a chance to excel on the field, regardless of her batting scores.

"When you are so consistent in your performances, definitely people are going to expect more. I kept on telling her that, 'enjoy that pressure, take it as an opportunity'. It's because why they are expecting from you is that you are the one who have set your own standards differently from others.

"I keep on telling her that ups and downs in cricket or any game is obvious. You cannot score a fifty in every match. But whenever you're getting that important opportunity, even if that is crucial 15 or 35 runs, and if the team is winning through it, score that. When you play at a higher level, many things like that does count of huge importance."

While Soniya acknowledges observing less of Bhavika's cricket career than Hadke's, she highlights Bhavika's intelligent playing style and grasping power being the key behind her U19 World Cup selection.

'Once we were doing a personal coaching session, and somehow she was not happy with her own batting. I could understand that. But I was like, it happens; there are so many things back home that we don't know when we are coaching - like anything in the school or whatever else.

'So I just asked her, you want to take a break? She was like, no, I don't know what is happening in my batting because I could understand what was happening. She is so ready and, eager to learn and accept what is going wrong and implement it very soon.

"She has a very good grasping power and also has a nice way to analyse her game. She herself immediately asked me what is happening because every time when she goes for camps, she calls me around at night ' it's not like every day we talk.

"She just messaged me, can I call you today? I'm like, OK, whatever is happening, they are sending me four-five down. Even though she does open the batting for Maharashtra, it is not going to be the same when you play a higher level. But when you are so consistent, hard work pays off, and this is what I've seen in Bhavika."

When not playing cricket, Bhavika enjoys having quality family time, with drawing, music, and dancing as her hobbies. She considers Ishwari Awasare, her Maharashtra and India U19 teammate, as her best friend from U15 days.

She also seamlessly balances her 11th grade commerce studies in Pune with her cricketing aspirations, which includes representing the India senior women's team, playing in a senior World Cup and winning the trophy.

With her dedication and consistency, Bhavika is undoubtedly a player to watch out for as she sets her sights on leaving an indelible mark in the upcoming U19 World Cup. "Once you are in the U19 India team, people will be looking up to her. She is definitely a known person now ' like she went into the challenger trophy and scored 88 not out off 60 balls in the first match.

'It definitely is a stepping stone to enter the senior team because the selectors, and senior players are also aware of these young players. But definitely a long way to go for Bhavika because you need to perform consistently at the highest level and then you will be noticed even more easily,' Soniya signed off.

/IANS