THAT… It was very difficult for her to convince me,” says Bhagya Reddy after a brief pause and a wry laugh. She is sitting in the living room of her family’s dream house on a breezy Thursday evening in Hyderabad, trying to recall one of the pivotal life decisions her daughter and India all-rounder Arundhati Reddy had to make two years ago.
The 2022-23 season was over, and Arundhati had been a part of the Delhi Capitals team that reached the inaugural Women’s Premier League final. She had not played for India in almost two years and was not getting regular chances at her domestic team — Railways. At 26, Arundhati found herself at a crossroads with regard to her career and what lies ahead.
That is when she decided to take a leap of faith; to resign from her Railways job — one that had been crucial to not just her career but also her financial stability and that of her family — and switch teams in the domestic circuit. Having confided in her brother Rohit, who was getting married in a few months, Arundhati couldn’t bring it up with Bhagya.
“She was suffering within herself,” Bhagya recalls. “Then, Rohit called me up. He said, 'Amma, I want to talk to you. When you're cool and free, just let me know. This is regarding Shammu (Arundhati’s nickname)’. I said, ‘What? You first let me know. You're making me panic’. Then he explained, ‘It seems she wants to resign, but only if you say yes’. But as a mother, no parent ever thinks that their child is resigning from a government job and taking up cricket full-time (is good) because you don't know where it takes you. Then he added her to the call.
“The way she was crying… (Bhagya pauses). She said, ‘Amma, just give me one chance so that in life I will never regret that I have not tried. I promise you, Ma, I will never let you down, just give me one chance. If not this, there are so many other things, but please give me a chance.’ Then my son was also convincing me, and at last I said yes. ‘You are grown up enough, you know what is right, what is wrong, and I have full confidence in you, Shammu,’ I said.”
That conversation in mid-2023 between a daughter and her mother in many ways epitomises their relationship and life. The journey of Arundhati from the streets of Hyderabad as a ten-year-old to playing her first ODI World Cup at home is not hers alone. It is Bhagya’s as much as it is Arundhati’s. For their is a story of a daughter trying to do everything she can in her life for her mother, and a single parent who has given her blood and sweat to help her child live the dream she never could.
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The first time Bhagya heard about Arundhati’s talent in cricket was when she had put her son, daughter and nieces and nephews in a school summer camp. By then, cricket had already become an obsession for Arundhati, who used to watch matches from all over the world, knowing all the men’s cricketers by heart. She even used to have a scrapbook filled with pictures of Dale Steyn.
A coach at the summer camp identified a spark in Arundhati and suggested Bhagya put her daughter in a cricket academy. With Arundhati’s cousins also echoing the sentiment, Bhagya asked her daughter, who expressed her interest in playing cricket. A state-level volleyball player herself, she knew the significance of sports and wanted to make sure her daughter had a better path laid out than what she had growing up.
“I love sports. PT Usha was my idol. When I was doing my degree, she was the chief guest at one of the functions. I started playing volleyball around sixth or seventh class, and that is when my daughter also started playing. I have played SJFI, Universities, and states, but I could not find a proper route to reach where I wanted to. The only thing I have seen in her is that zeal. At that age, she knew the men’s players in all countries. She watched only cricket on TV. I asked her if she wanted to play. Then she said, "Yes, Amma, I want to join.”
However, as a single parent and a school teacher, there were practical challenges. “I know at that time, I was not in a position to put her in the academy. Because our situation was,” Bhagya pauses, before adding, “She started her first training at the same academy (St. John's Sports Coaching Foundation) where Mithali Raj started. From there it began. In the mornings, around 4-5 AM, I would drop her off at the ground. Then, I would bring her back, drop her off at school, and then go back to my school. In the evening again, by the time I would go home, she would be ready. I would take her to training, pick her up after she finishes, then again the next day. I think I was the only mother who was there, and all fathers would be there (at the academy),” says Bhagya, who declined better offers from other schools because of the flexibility that the one she has been working in for more than two decades provided.
The hurdles did not stop there. As Arundhati rose up the ranks in age-group and senior Hyderabad team at a very young age, she had attendance issues at school. Once, the school principal argued with Bhagya in front of Arundhati, saying that she was playing with her daughter’s life because she is a girl child. Arundhati, someone who used to be scared of teachers and coaches, eventually had to open up and say that it was her wish, and her mother was just encouraging her. Eventually, Bhagya enrolled her in open schooling from class X despite all the objections from family members and relatives. Though she was afraid and anxious, Bhagya never showed it to her children and instilled all the confidence in her daughter.
“That way, we really faced problems. My own people would ask how I can do this because she is very good at her studies. She never used to compromise with marks or anything. But I don't know how God gave me so much strength at that time. I took the side of my daughter and what she is interested in. People talked about many things, my colleagues, my neighbours, my family, like relatives, but then I said no, let me give my daughter a chance.”
Arundhati, too, knew what Bhagya was going through for her, even though they never really talked about it. Instead, she tried to give her best on the cricket field, repaying the faith her mother had in her. The rewards came along, and as a result, so did a Railways job offer — something that the family needed at the time. “It was very much needed, because financially we were like… I used to always tell her that, financially, first she has to become independent, then she can think about the next step. Those who played with me, like when I was playing, all joined the railways or postal service, because I didn't get a proper route, I couldn't. Once she joined the railways, her real growth started. I am really blessed and I am very thankful, not only myself, but also my daughter has learnt so much from Railways.” Soon, her India T20I debut followed. In the years to come, she went on to play two T20 World Cups before the pandemic broke out.
Throughout the conversation, one of the things that Bhagya keeps going back to is “she never let me down.” It seems like an unsaid promise that has been kept between the mother and daughter over the years. Growing up, Arundhati was not comfortable with her mother coming to watch her play. It was the case for years, even after she played for India. She never talked cricket with Bhagya either, even though she knew her mother was following every step closely. It was only during the WPL that Arundhati’s friends and teammates convinced her to invite her mother.
“She called me because I think Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) and all her friends forced her. ‘No, no, all our parents are coming. You ask Aunty also,’ they said before calling me up. ‘Aunty, please come. You will enjoy it.’ I attended her WPL match. It was like being on top of my world. Like how every parent feels. I went to Dubai as well for the T20 World Cup, where she got her first player of the match against Pakistan,” says Bhagya, beaming with pride.
“I really can say that today my daughter is in this position because of her friends. She never used to share anything, but they would always tell me, ‘Aunty, whatever she is doing is only for you. Please don't worry, we are there’. There were times when I couldn't take her to the airport. Ananya (Upendran, former India A cricketer and one of Arundhati's best friends) would come home, pick her up. I really owe a lot to her friends also, and till today, they are the same,” she adds.
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Two years have passed since the Reddy family had that conference call. In the time since, Arundhati resigned from Railways, shifted to Kerala in domestic cricket with the guidance of former India fielding coach and her mentor Biju George, started training with Arjun Dev at NICE Academy in Bengaluru and put on consistent performances. It showed in the domestic season as well as the 2024 WPL season for the Delhi Capitals. So much so that her India comeback was inevitable. Three years after being dropped, she was back in the team, making her ODI debut against South Africa in Bengaluru last year. The T20I comeback happened in the same series, followed by the World Cup in Dubai.
All the on-field efforts were also complemented by the off-field changes she had made. Arundhati had become calmer, quieter and even spiritual person. She started meditating and was focused on using all her energy into her game. Soon after the England tour earlier this year, she was training in Bengaluru, attended the India camp in Visakhapatnam, before going directly back to training in Bengaluru.“She is making sure there is no stone left unturned. She has made a lot of sacrifices; till today, she has never attended a family occasion. She knows how to speak, where to speak, and whom to speak to, and she keeps telling me. I can say she is very mature. I feel very proud that she is my daughter,” smiles Bhagya.
It is hard to miss the fact that there are no medals or trophies, or posters of Arundhati in the living room. The only cricket-related thing one could see is the picture of Arundhati receiving her T20I cap seven years ago. “She has prohibited me from putting anything outside,” laughs Bhagya. The walls of the living room may not tell stories about her accolades, but the sense of pride one could see and feel when Bhagya talks about her Shammu tells more. Arundhati’s rise has made not just her mother but even the relatives who were not necessarily sure about her playing cricket immensely proud. “Not only me, but my entire family is very proud of her. Her first ODI World Cup is happening at home. It's a big privilege. I hope the team does well,” Bhagya says with the confidence that India will win the World Cup.
As the conversation comes close, Bhagya jokes about how not many in the apartment complex, where they have moved into recently, might be aware of the fact that Arundhati is an Indian cricketer. That, however, will change in the next few weeks as Arundhati takes the field for India in a home World Cup. And Bhagya knows that her daughter will do everything in her power to make her and the country proud.