U19 Women's T20 World Cup: Bengal's Titas Sadhu and Hrishita Basu are ready to take on the world

One is a fast bowler who aspires to be one of the best in the world and another is a wicket-keeper batter who impressed everyone with her skills with bat and gloves on; there will be two of the most exciting talents from Bengal in South Africa for the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup.

Titas Sadhu and Hrishita Basu will be donning the India jersey in the first-ever U19 Women's T20 World Cup. Yes, obviously, there will be Richa Ghosh, who is also from Bengal. But, these two young kids are also ready to take on the world and make history. Before boarding the flight for Bangalore to prepare for the World Cup, both youngsters sat down with Sportz Point for exclusive interviews.

Titas Sadhu, Hrishita Basu and Richa Ghosh - Three from Bengal in U19 WWC

Titas hails from a town named Chinsurah in the Hooghly district and belongs to a family rich in sports history. She was only 12 when she picked up a tennis ball to bowl and since then she has not looked back. Meanwhile, Hrishita is from Bakultala, Howrah in West Bengal. Just like any other wicketkeeper batter in the world, Basu idolises MS Dhoni and wants to be as much smart as the man from Ranchi.

The Cricket Association of Bengal congratulated and felicitated both youngsters for their selection for the U19 Women's World Cup. But, the words and congratulations from Jhulan Goswami made them as motivated as ever. Friends and family of both Titas and Hrihista were thrilled and overwhelmed with the news of their selection. However, both of them want to get all the love and affection after bringing the world cup home.

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Both young cricketers did well in the preparatory camps held at the National Cricket Academy and then showed their class and confidence in the WOMENS UNDER 19 T20 CHALLENGER TROPHY to impress the selectors to get selected for the next QUADRANGULAR WOMENS U19 T20 SERIES where two teams from India, West Indies and Sri Lanka participated.

U19 Women's World Cup | Hrishita's 360-game and quick glovework

In the Challenger trophy, Hrishita Basu averaged 41 with a strike rate of 132.25 which included a few 360-degree shots as well.

Although it looked smooth in the video, Hrishita told Sportz Point that she really struggled to get that shot going in practice. In fact, some of the coaches at the NCA suggested her to carry extra helmets as there were high chance of coping some of the balls in the helmet while playing those shots.

"You can play with the field placing when you have those shots in your armoury. But, this is just the start. I want to improve more so that those shots can come in handy at the right place, at the right time," Hrishita Basu told Sportz Point.

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"MS Dhoni is like God to me:" Hrishita Basu

After batting quite a few matches at number 5 or below, Hrishita knows she will have the responsibility of finishing the matches when given the opportunity. However, she is also prepared to bat up the order if the team need her.

"I am very much confident as a finisher in the team. But, I am ready to bat up the order as well. The main thing is to score runs for the team," Basu added.

Just like her idol MS Dhoni, Hrishita is smart and quick behind the stumps. With her tidy and quick hands, it will be very tough to leave her out of the team even with Richa Ghosh in the playing eleven.

U19 Women's World Cup | Quick and accurate Titas Sadhu will be an asset for team India

On the other hand, Titas's all-around ability and pace can be one of the most exciting things in the world cup. With the South African pitches in mind, the tall bowler from Bengal will surely create some problems for the opponent batters.

Titas had an economy rate of 3.85 with a bowling average of 10.80 in the WOMENS UNDER 19 T20 CHALLENGER TROPHY and continued that form in the Quadrangular series as well. She was outstanding in the series against New Zealand WM U19 as her economy rate and the average was 4.90 and 16.33 respectively.

Titas accepts that all of her power and strength come from all the hard training she does in between the games. Her background in running helps her learn the biomechanics of the game more quickly than others as well. Other than that, she feels that having the right kind of food and recovering well is the most important thing for a pacer.

"It is important to have basic strength and fitness. But, it is more important to maintain that fitness throughout the season to have a prolonged career. That is why sleep, nutrition and recovery are a must," the pacer told Sportz Point.

Read Also: Women's Cricket Exclusive: Bowls fast, hits it long, runs 2km under 8 min, Titas Sadhu is ready for bigger stage

"Beating New Zealand by 5-0 was a huge confidence booster for us:" Titas Sadhu

Not to forget, Titas already played for the senior Bengal women's team in both List-A and T20 formats. But, just like all the cricketers out there, her dream is to play for the senior India team. That's why she feels performing in an open tournament like this will be very important for everyone in the squad. Moreover, she is eyeing that Women's IPL contract as well, which can be a path to the Indian team.

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With the possibility of creating history and being the first team ever to win a U19 Women's World Cup, both Hrishita and Titas feel they have to be on point with the effort and planning. They both agree that the inclusion of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh in the squad will certainly make them one of the favourites of the tournament.

"The inclusion of Richa and Shafali will be a vital one for us. They already have exposure and experience in international cricket. Most importantly, both of them are in great form. So, I am hopeful that they will do good things in the tournament," Titas expressed.

"Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh already played senior world cups. Their presence in the team will surely make us more confident," Hrishita echoed the thoughts of Titas.

Full Indian Squad for the ICC U19 WT20WC

India U19 Women's squad for ICC Under-19 Women's World Cup: Shafali Verma (c), Shweta Sehrawat (vc), Richa Ghosh (wk), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (wk), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD.
 
Standby players: Shikha, Najla CMC, Yashashree.

India will be playing their first match against the host South Africa on 14th January, 2023.