Taniya Bhatia - 'Keeping' up with her genes

"My family background is wicketkeeping," Taniya Bhatia says with a straight face before she bursts out laughing. Her cricketer-turned-banker father, Sanjay Bhatia, was a stand-by wicketkeeper for Punjab back in the late 80s, and so was her uncle Ajay. Quite naturally, Taniya too was inclined towards the same despite her father wanting to shape her into an all-rounder. "She bowled good inswingers then," Sanjay offers in his defense. But one of Taniya's childhood coach convinced she'll make a good wicketkeeper if that's what she had interest in. "Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, I never grew tall enough to take up fast bowling, and that was that," she quips. Her 15-year-old brother Sahaj is also, unsurprisingly, lined up to don the gloves for Punjab U19 this year.

Sanjay wasted no time in enrolling Taniya into the nearest cricket academy when, on the sidelines of a casual Sunday picnic game, he saw his daughter fare better than what he'd expected from a seven-year-old playing with his bat. His encouragement towards his middle child to pick up a male-dominated sport was met with a lot skepticism from the extended family and friends circle, but he assured his concerned wife they'll come around sooner than later. "I told my wife wait for a few years, when press will jam this place for interviews."

In a year, as Taniya's interest in the game also peaked, she shifted coaching at the DAV Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh's Sector 8, first under the supervision of her father's batch-mate Sukhwinder Bawa and then six months later, Yograj Singh. The former India cricketer spotted the spark as well as the passion in her early, and she was picked in that year's batch of up and coming kids Yograj would keep a close eye on. "He told me she'll make it big if she works hard, and I instantly knew I had made the right decision."

Training as the only girl amongst the boys, Taniya wasn't treated any differently. "For Yograj sir I was a trainee, not a girl-trainee. Plus I had such short hair back then that people there, unless they were talking to me, didn't realise a long time that I was a girl!" While the appearance fooled Yuvraj Singh too, her skills caught the eye of the India star who ran up to her and gave a little pat on the back. The 20-year-old feels starting off in a boys academy prepared her better for professional cricket. "Their body language is different, and that rubs off on you. Most of them were older to me and keeping for them sharpened my reflexes, I felt. My basics are strong because I was constantly playing with the boys since I started. It also made me mentally tough. Yograj sir never treated me any differently either, thankfully. I'll never forget the things I learnt under him. It helped me get disciplined. I watched my fitness like a hawk. It felt comparatively easier to play with girls of my age later. If you set the standards high when you're still learning, it's easier to cope with the challenges of top-flight cricket when you grow up."

Her father couldn't agree more. "Yograj sir worked on her rigorously and polished her into a proper cricketer from just a kid who was very keen on playing the game."

After four years of training at the DAV academy, Taniya appeared for Punjab trials at the age of 11 and made the cut immediately. She still holds the distinction of being the youngest girl to represent Punjab in U19. Once in the state team, her performances went up further, and in a year, she found herself in the senior state team. And at 16, Taniya was already playing for India A in the warm-ups against touring sides.

However, runs dried up the next season. A near two-year slump in form meant Taniya lost her spot in not only the A team but also the Challenger Trophy, which back in the day consisted of one team comprising the best of U19 talent. She slipped out of the selectors' minds in the lead up to the World Cup year and began to lose interest in cricket consequently. Taniya admits she nearly quit cricket. "If you fall down at a time when you're expecting your career graph to only climb upwards, it becomes very difficult to cope with at that young age. I almost quit cricket altogether."

Questions were also raised over her spot in the state team and Taniya began to lose interest in daily practice now.

"There was so much negativity around me, I couldn't push myself to play cricket anymore, I was 18, and not as mentally strong back then maybe." Even then, her mother made sure she never missed a day, dropping and picking her up and pushing her a little bit further. When Sanjay noticed Taniya putting on weight and not paying any attention to her fitness, he sat her down one day and explained that she's still got age on her side. "We tried our best to motivate her but I also knew she wouldn't go back if she didn't feel it from within." Taniya's elder sister too urged her to not let her years of hard work as well as the sacrifice of their parents go to waste.

"When I saw my family being so supportive irrespective of the results, I sat down and introspected. I thought to myself 'am I working as hard as I should be to get that India call-up?" I looked deeper into my mistakes and worked on correcting them. Fitness was a big aspect, and I focused on improving it. Once I started getting the results again, it was all back to normal very soon," she says, before adding "I owe everything to my parents, especially mom."

"Taniya's closer to her mother; very close", says Sanjay, and it's not difficult to see why. Nine years ago, just about when Taniya broke into Punjab U19, a promotion at work meant Sanjay had to relocate to Jalandhar. His wife, Sapna, stayed back and even though she knew practically nothing about cricket, the doting mother shouldered the responsibility to look after Taniya's cricket. "Mom made a lot of sacrifices. She used to drop me to the practice in the mornings, and then pick me up also in the evenings. She didn't go to any family functions outside of the city, nowhere when I was at practice. She stayed so that I have someone around in case of emergencies. Even today if I have practice, or if I am in town, you'll find her at home. All throughout when my dad wasn't around in Chandigarh, mom took extra care of my cricket needs even though she understands very little of the game."

While Sapna was her life coach, in her father Taniya had the perfect mentor she needed. "My dad is my biggest critic. If I didn't score runs he would say, ghar mat aana (don't you dare come back home). He's a little strict that way but that nature has been very helpful towards improving my game, and consistency."

I was scared of my father. I think all the runs in the last couple of seasons have all been because I was petrified of what would happen if I didn't score," she laughs. "He would come watch the games whenever possible and I knew okay, aaj class lagegi [he'll scold if I don't score]. All that has proved quite helpful, I have to admit."

January 2018 was a month of double delight for the Bhatia family. In a strangely happy coincidence, after nine years and several transfers later, Sanjay's comeback to Chandigarh coincided with Taniya's T20I debut in South Africa. "We knew she had it in her, so the celebrations weren't really as big but you feel immensely proud when you see your daughter's name in the team sheet," Sanjay remarks. Taniya though vividly remembers how breaking the news of her maiden India call-up drove her mother to tears. "She wept, inconsolably! Tears of happiness, you know; she couldn't believe it was finally happening. It was a very emotional moment for my mom."

Taniya's first meeting with one of her childhood heroes Mithali Raj, was an experience to remember for the 20-year-old debutant on tour. "I was obviously scared, being a new entrant. Coach then asked me to initiate a conversation and just casually talk to the them. I had a good chat with her for those 15 minutes. What she thinks about us, as a player, what she expects from us. She gave us some tips about the game.

"I'd always dreamt of getting my cap from Mithali di. She wished me luck. She doesn't talk a lot usually but even the few words she'll say will motivate you immensely."

As aggressive as her batting is, Taniya is an awfully reserved character off the field, often walking around lost in her thoughts. And that did not sit well with her teammates, who quickly made her the subject of good-natured banter in the dressing room. "As a 'keeper you are expected to be very vocal. So in the first few days, these guys used to pull my leg all the time. One day, they made me deliver a team speech in front of everyone! Whole of South Africa tour was a nightmare that way," she laughs off.

In anticipation of her much-awaited debut the next day, Taniya recalls spending her night watching the videos of her favourite wicketkeepers - Sarah Taylor and Alyssa Healy - till 2 in the morning. Her father's advice, too kept ringing in her mind.

"Dad said, 'aate bahut hain, teekte bahut kam hain' (many come but only a few stick around). I taunted him then for being so unrelenting even on that happy occasion, but I know deep down that this was all so that I stay grounded and focused. He has a point. I have to create an impact, both as a 'keeper and as batsman, if I don't have to become another one of the also-rans. Having gone through that bad patch earlier, I now know how to take this admiration also, how to react and more importantly, not let the success get to my head. Dad has helped me a lot with that."

An opener for Punjab in T20s, Taniya though has always been slotted in the middle order in the 15 T20Is for India. At the Challengers in Alur, Taniya was run out for 1 before not getting a chance to bat in the next two games. But her unbeaten 29 to wrap up a do-or-die last league game for India Blue, followed by a quickfire 28 at a strike rate of nearly 165 in the final, saw her overtake India's first-choice 'keeper and backup, Sushma Verma and Nuzhat Parween, to earn her maiden ODI call-up. What caught the attention was the ease with which she played her strokes against both pace and spin, notably her footwork against established India spinners.

She, however, credits Raj for a pep talk in the middle of the Challengers in helping her nail that spot. "She sat me down and told me that 'you'd probably not get every such opportunity going forward, so make this count. As a batsmen you have to be prepared to give your best on all kinds of wickets'. That was quite motivating - when the person you look up to comes up and shows such confidence in you. The runs were a result of that [chat]."

With her promising debut in Sri Lanka, Taniya would be hoping to provide India long-term relief they'd been looking for, and her father a lot more potential news clippings to add to his bulging nine-year-old scrapbook.

"I've told her I want to see you as the captain of India one day. I know she can do it. I hope she does."