At 10 AM sharp, Niki Prasad joined the Zoom call.
It took her roughly eight seconds to set up her frame. “How are you, sir?” a soft voice from the other end uttered, showing her respect.
Roughly two years ago, one phone conversation took Niki aback when she heard, “You are not picked for the U-19 WC”. It took her aback with even a frown, but that set her on the journey to betterment right from her routine, diet, training sessions and skillset.
“I changed my diet. I changed my training session. I changed everything about my cricket and even my personal life. It has been a journey, and I had to make many changes, and there’s still a lot of work to be done. But I’m on the right track,” Niki told Cricket.com.
One thing that cost her a spot in that World Cup was ‘power-hitting’, a skill that isn’t so common in women’s cricket, at least in India. Tedious training and gym sessions over the next few months put her back on the right track to ensure the selectors could no longer ignore her.
“I think I worked a lot on my bat speed and power hitting, which is required right now. You need that timing and everything but also a lot of power. So, I changed my fitness training and worked a lot on my strength,” Niki revealed.
“I did a lot of power training and power hitting and worked on skills that could improve my power game. That’s the one thing that has changed since the last World Cup.”
That’s when she figured out the ideal training regime: a three-day intense programme where she does nothing but smack the ball without worrying much about technique.
Just about when she explained how her training regime works, the 19-year-old’s voice had a childlike enthusiasm when she said she only wanted to smack the ball outside the ground.
“So, three days a week, I give only for power-hitting. I give only for power shots. And I just ensure I hit the ball hard,” Niki said.
“So any loose ball I get in the match, I just want to ensure it goes outside the ground. So that's how I do only power-hitting the first three days a week. And then three days, I bat in the nets, see the ball, play, place it, and play like that.”
It ultimately culminated in Niki putting on a show in the Women’s Challengers Trophy, where she ended up as the highest run-scorer, amassing 162 runs across four innings. She was only one of the three batters in the competition to score more than 20 boundaries, alongside Ira Jadhav and Bhavika Ahire.
“I think the Challenger Trophy was crucial to this year. Because obviously, you know you are at that stage where you might play for the team [U-19],” Niki opened up.
“But, getting scores, getting that behind your back, will be a plus point. Then, no one’s going to say that you can’t score. You won’t have any negative talk when you have runs behind your back or wins. It was crucial, especially because it was close to the Asia Cup,” she added.
Niki knew all about being left out of the Asia Cup, but perhaps that was what egged and motivated her not just to lead the side but to lead them to a title. Her crucial contribution of 46 allowed India A to win the competition by 24 runs. All she did was ‘express herself’.
“I just wanted to make sure that I really express myself. And obviously, there are many other things that there's the WPL auction coming up. There are scouts, there are selectors, all of that.
But for me, the Challenger Trophy was all about expressing. I just made sure that my team plays well, that my team is bonded,” she recalled.
What was more staggering was when she said, “There's no pressure of anything. There's no pressure of captaincy. There's no pressure of failure.” You need some surreal maturity to even think of such things, seldom say. It isn’t overconfidence; it stems from the fact that Niki needs to keep the dressing room temperature lukewarm.
“You shouldn't let anything give you pressure because you're the main person for the team. The team is going to look up to you. If the captain feels tense, the team is in chaos. So I think that's what I've developed over the year,” she said with utmost calmness.
Early memories of cricket, Rahul Dravid and the way forward
When Niki was six, she naturally gravitated towards the sport. She followed her cousin to play on the ground with a tennis ball. Before she realised it, it was already too late, as she swapped the tennis ball for a seasoned leather ball.
Months later, she took up that interest with her mother, telling her, ‘I want to play cricket.’ Her mom didn’t hesitate, instantly agreeing to become Niki’s companion for the next six years at various cricket matches and clubs across the city.
But it was only in 2018/19 that she found a home in Just Cricket Academy, who took Niki under its wing and made her realise how to fly. Throughout the last six years, they have given her every facility under the roof to hone her skills, be it cricketing skills, gym or fitness training.
“My usual day in JC [Academy] would be like, I would go to JC, do my fitness first, and then have some breakfast and start off with my training. I do a lot of batting on the turf and power-hitting over there,” she said.
“Vinayak Sir has worked on my bat speed and how I hit the ball hard. So with him, it's all about powerful, very hard training sessions,” she added.
Niki faces the bowlers' wrath on wickets braised under the Bengaluru heat when she isn't working on her power hitting or bat speed. But the story doesn’t end there; she also rolls her arm quite a bit to become an all-rounder, equipping herself to keep pace with modern-day cricket.
In addition, she has very succinct training sessions, almost like match simulations, where she asks her coach what the fielding setup is. That’s the mentality she brings to the pitch as well.
Watching all of those from a little distance away is her constant support, Niki’s mom.
“I think as far as I remember, for almost like five years, my mom travelled with me everywhere. She's come for my practice sessions early in the morning and has been there for hours. She’s taken me to every academy in Bengaluru to improve my batting. My mom also ensures that I eat the right food, work hard, and train,” Niki said.
“She's also, I think I get that quality from her of being humble, being calm. So she's always ensured that I stay disciplined and respect my seniors, coaches, and everything. She's been there throughout the journey,” the Indian U-19 skipper added.
If not for her mom’s diligent efforts, Niki wouldn’t have seen her idol, Rahul Dravid, watch her bat from the stands, where he happened to be present for his son, Samit.
“I didn't get the opportunity to talk to Rahul Dravid, sir, but we used to play junior cricket. Samit [Dravid] used to play; we were the same age when we played under 12 and 14, under 16 matches.
“Samit used to play for another academy. So, a lot of times, we've played against his academy. Whenever he used to come to play the match, Rahul Dravid sir also used to come and watch us play, I used to get very excited that he was there. He would be sitting over there, watching us all play.”
You’d assume that Niki’s jersey number 19 is a tribute to Dravid himself, right? As comical as it sounds, it wasn’t meant to be in the first place if not for Niki’s bad memory.
“It's a very funny story. When I started playing cricket, I looked up to Rahul Dravid because I didn't know much about women's cricket. I used to watch Rahul sir, Sachin sir and AB de Villiers during the IPL. I wanted AB’s jersey number, so I wanted 17.
“I thought his jersey number was 19. And I gave it 19. Only later did I realise that 19 is not his jersey number, and it is Rahul sir’s. I was happy that I got to wear his number jersey.”
But years later, that 19 has ultimately brought about a change of luck for Niki, the cricketer, who has risen through the ranks effortlessly to take up India’s leadership role. Under her leadership, India captured the inaugural edition of the U-19 Women’s Asia Cup, bettering Bangladesh in the final, where Niki proved her worth as a skipper.
However, it wasn’t the best of tournaments for the right-hander, with just 37 runs in five games, averaging 18.50. But the fact that it came at least four months before the global event in Malaysia gave Niki a big boost.
“I've returned and looked at what I can do right. When I return to the World Cup, we will play in the same conditions, on the same ground. I will just make sure I am also there scoring runs for the Indian team. It's going to be different now,” the 19-year-old said.
Niki’s life also continued to change for the better when Delhi Capitals picked her in the squad ahead of the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL), where she will share a dressing room with Meg Lanning, Marizanne Kapp, and Jemimah Rodrigues, something she can’t wait for.
“I'll have certain conversations and ask many things from Meg Lanning and Marizanne Kapp. And then we have our very own Jemimah Rodrigues. I like her energy, what she brings on the field, and the type of batting she's done,” she added.
“It's nice just to learn a lot from them. Not just ask and know, but also watch them play. And there are many other things we can learn from them.”
The 19-year-old will also reunite with Ananya Upendran (DC’s talent scout), who has seen the right-hander develop her game from close quarters without giving away any secret that the franchise will pick her.
But now that the cat is out of the bag, Niki hopes to sit with the former Hyderabad pacer to talk more cricket. For her career to have a lift-off, the next six months will be as crucial as ever, with the U-19 World Cup and the WPL.
“The first goal is winning the World Cup. Also for me, as a batter, it will be scoring a lot of runs for my team. And then once we come back, we have our WPL. I want to go out there and express myself. If I get the opportunity to play a game, I just want to go and show what I can do,” she spoke without much hesitation.
Niki’s cricketing journey would be incomplete without the mention of Nisarg Naik. What’s he got to do with her, you may ask? Over the last two years, Naik has been almost going around the town, reaffirming that Niki Prasad will be India’s U-19 captain in the 2025 edition.
Maybe it wasn’t a prediction; maybe he manifested so hard that the prediction became a reality. But what a lot of people know is how one small piece of Nisarg’s cricketing past is now living a tale through Niki.
“So yeah, Nisarg [Naik] has been there from the last two years since I was not there, part of the first World Cup. He's seen everything, given me constructive criticism, and told me many positive things.
“He’s seen the journey and wants me to do much better. He keeps pushing me to make me get better. That’s a great support I have in my life.”
Cricket, captaincy and the right amount of support have led to the town talking about Niki Prasad. But it is the start of a long journey, one that we must keep a close eye on.
It is now up to the 19-year-old to take flight to live her dream.