New Delhi: Kanika Ahuja is the new star in the inaugural WPL as she led Royal Challengers Bangalore to their first victory after five consecutive losses. Her inning of 46 off 30 balls helped RCB chase 136 against UP Warriorz and made her the center of attraction as the 20-year-old did her first press conference in life. But, her journey has not been all hunky dory.
Kanika’s mother back home is battling breast and bone cancers and after her daughter’s heroics, she had to go for her chemotherapy the next morning. Her mother wants to get well soon to watch her daughter play in a stadium. Kanika’s father told Indian Express that the all-rounder is aware of her mother’s situation, but they do not talk about it. They rather discuss Kanika meeting the likes of Ellyse Perry and Smriti Mandhana.
After the game, Kanika said that there was a time when her mother used to push her to play and now she is playing because she watches her. She added that her family was not aware of women’s cricket so her father asked her to focus on her studies while her mother pushed her to play.
Her grandfather, who used to accompany her to training sessions said that she handled the news of her mother’s cancer amazingly and called her God’s gift. Her childhood coach told the media outlet that she did not miss a single training session and her passion for the game is second to none.
In the press conference, she mentioned that she enjoyed hearing ‘Kanika, Kanika’ in the stadium. She added that Virat Kohli’s pre-match motivation helped her as he asked the players to think of pressure as pleasure.
Watch her press conference here.
The youngster truly stood by her senior’s words and performed under pressure. She along with Richa Ghosh’s 31*(32) helped RCB to stay in the competition. Sophie Devine picking two early wickets, followed by Sobhana Asha and Ellyse Perry taking two and three wickets respectively restricted UPW to 135.
