HYDERABAD: When 17-year-old V Prathiksha arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday after returning from a training camp at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), she was welcomed with the news that she had been included in India’s U-19 ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour for the white-ball series. The announcement left her overjoyed.“I was delighted when I came to know that I was picked for the Sri Lanka tour. This is just the beginning. I want to play for the country. But my immediate target is to do well in the opportunities I get and get selected for the next year’s T20 World Cup,” said the batting all-rounder.Prathiksha’s association with cricket started when she was nine, influenced by her brother Rahul Vardhan, who also played the sport. She then began structured coaching at theSt John’s Cricket Academy.Her progress was swift as she was selected for the state U-15 side in 2022 and later made her U-19 debut in December 2024. She finished among the top four run-scorers in the competition, drawing attention by amassing 350 runs in the U-19 BCCI tournament for the state, including two hundreds, 114 vs Jammu & Kashmir and 100 vs Himachal Pradesh. She has also played for the state U-23 team.Her strong showing in the U-19 tournament led to a call-up to the national camp a month ago. Now, those results have secured her first selection for the national side.Prathiksha was born in Puducherry in 2008, but her family moved to Hyderabad later that year because her mother, Shanmuga Priya, is employed as an ENT specialist with the South Central Railway. Her father, R Venkatesh, works as a software engineer. The Intermediate second-year Bi. P.C. student at St John’s College is focused on using this chance to move closer to her goal.
