Lisa basks in idol Sachin’s glow

Sydney, January 4: She still remembers all the words said in that little conversation with Sachin Tendulkar in 2005. Surely enough, she was one of the early entrants into the SCG on Friday for the primetime view of the Indian maestro’s batting, and topping it all with a century to boot.

There was something about her that looks different from the other admirers who sat applauding his innings, and Lisa Sthalekar has done enough of note so far. The Pune-born Lisa is now the vice-captain of the Australian women’s Cricket team, and has just earned the international women’s cricketer of the year award, beating the legendary Karen Rolton—her present skipper.

“Sachin Tendulkar is my idol. I love to watch him bat. I remember having a chat in Adelaide when he last toured. I am looking forward to continuing that conversation,” she says. She’s had a few “hi”s and “hello”s with other Indian players during the course of this Test, but this is different.

She’s keenly watching the game and is happy with the proceedings in the Test. “It’s great to see the Indian team fight back in the match. I was a touch disappointed with the way they played in Melbourne but this match is now proving to be a good contest,” she says.

Lisa was three weeks old when her parents shifted to Australia, but that hasn’t cut her Indian roots during her upbringing and admits to being in touch with all relatives in Pune and around India. Interestingly, some of her best performances—with the bat and ball—for her national team have come on Indian soil, albeit against the Indians only. An aggressive batswoman and off-break bowler, Lisa is happy to talk about her Indian roots though she reminds sternly that she’s a complete Australian.

“Look I am an Australian, but I enjoy the Indian culture. I have family back in India and I enjoy the Indian food, and enjoy my trip whenever I go back to that country. I am very lucky that I have two different cultures and backgrounds that I respect and enjoy,” she clarified.

“I am basically a batsman and I started off-spin when I started playing with the boys. Yes I have had some good success with the ball, but I want to develop my game more as a batter. I didn’t want to be standing without anything to do, I wanted to get busy on the field as well and that’s how I went to bowl my off-spin,” she says.

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