WPL: The struggles that shaped Gautami Naik’s starry night

The coach and the family were such sturdy pillars in her life that she dedicated the player of the match award to them. “This is for Sir [Shinde] and my family,” she said. “It’s because of them I have achieved this. They have taken so much effort for me.”

The coach and the family were such sturdy pillars in her life that Gautami dedicated the player of the match award to them. (Special Arrangement)

Shinde first noticed Gautami around 2012–13, when he was still playing himself. “I felt this girl had no one,” he says. “So I thought – we will stand by her.” Since then, Naik has trained under him at AS Professional Cricket Academy in Pune. Coaching fees were never part of the arrangement. “We never took any fees,” Shinde recollects. “Whatever she needed – mental support, equipment, nutrition – we tried to provide.”

For years, the 27-year-old remained raw. “For almost 10 years, she had just one shot – one through midwicket,” Shinde says. Development came gradually rather than through an overhaul. “We didn’t want to stop her natural hitting,” he said. “But she had to develop all her shots.”

Ahead of the WPL selection matches, preparation became sharper and more role-specific. Instead of routine net sessions, Naik trained through match simulations focused on different batting roles – opening, middle order and finishing. “We tried to understand what franchises look for, and what roles they want players to fill.” Shinde says.

Those sessions convinced the coach that something had changed. “I didn’t tell Gautami,” he said. “But I told one of the families – she will play in the WPL this year.” She has spoken about Hardik Pandya as a role model and her ambition to play a similar all-round role.

The coach is more realistic. “She has good pace,” he says. “But to become a genuine fast-bowling all-rounder, you need strength and resources. Earlier, we didn’t have that.”

Revival, resurrection

Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Gautami Naik played an impressive knock of 73 against Gujarat Giants in Vadodara. (PHOTO: CREIMAS FOR WPL)

For now, batting remains her strongest suit; the skill that won her plaudits on Monday night. Striding out at 9/2, Gautami began cautiously, scoring her first boundary only off the 13th delivery she faced, a driven four off Kashvee Gautam. The shot eased some pressure, but her work had only begun. The right-hander maintained a steady tempo even after Smriti Mandhana fell for 26 in the 10th over. “She had played a few matches earlier but couldn’t grab the opportunity. There was pressure,” the coach says.

Batting with Mandhana helped ease some of the pressure. The two share a long-standing familiarity, having played together for the Ratnagiri Jets in the Maharashtra Premier League. The comfort was evident in how Naik settled into her innings. “She [Mandhana] made it easy for me when I came out to bat today,” Gautami said. “She told me how my shot selection should be on such a wicket. Because of her I was able to get going initially and then hit my shots later.”

Shinde fishes out a conversation with his student about Smriti. “I told Gautami – just impress the captain. If you impress the captain, you don’t have to do anything,” Shinde recounts. “If the No. 1 batter is with you, what can be bigger? She even told her, ‘Where were you all these days? Why didn’t I see you?’ I would say it is 90 percent Smriti’s decision to pick her.” And how she repaid the captain’s faith.