From Cricket Pitch to National Team | Siya Gokhale | Lowkey Unfiltered Episode 2

Añadido: 2026-06-03

[00:00:06]Greetings and welcome back to my podcast Loki unfiltered. My name is Saksham Mandari. Here I talk to people who've achieved something genuine and motivating in their own unique ways.

[00:00:20]You'll hear real world stories of challenges, risks, and achievements over the next few episodes. This episode we're talking to someone who's breaking boundaries both on and off the field.

[00:00:32]Joining me today is Sia Gul, a UAE women's national cricket team player who has represented the country for about 4 years now. Um she's an allrounder pacer and middle order batter while pursuing a BSc in biomedical science at the University of Birmingham. Beyond cricket, she's a radio cricket commentator, a pianist, and a passionate traveler who loves exploring new cuisines. Welcome, Miss Sia to Loki unfiltered.

[00:01:00]>> Thank you and thank you so much for having me here.

[00:01:03]>> No problem. So, for people who mostly know you as a cricketer, who is Sia off the field? What do you like doing in your free time? you know, when you're sort of away from training or like a big tournament, >> I feel like your off time is very important because when you do one thing for so long, your mind kind of gets saturated with it. So, I try to keep my um off the field things a bit more light, something that brings me a lot of joy and like you mentioned, I am a pianist, so I enjoy playing the piano a lot. Um I come from a family who is which is very very um you know, into music. We are music enthusiasts. My dad himself is a classical tabla player and we just love having that musical vibe around us. So that is one thing I do. I try to have jam sessions with my dad.

[00:01:47]Try and you know discover new songs or just sit down and just figure something out that will help us get through like a couple hours in the day maybe. But yeah, other than that I enjoy a bit of reading as well. I try to go out as much cuz every time you know you come back to Dubai after a tour, there's something or the other that's new and >> Exactly. Yeah.

[00:02:05]>> Yeah. There's there's some new food place that's come out. There's some new attraction that's there. There's always a must try ice cream or a must try paratha roll. So, just try and join the trend. Go out and have some fun.

[00:02:17]>> Yeah, I did I did do piano as well for a little while. I used to read as well.

[00:02:22]And yeah, that's how it went. And that's what I I do play video games actually.

[00:02:27]>> Oh, nice.

[00:02:28]>> So, when I'm like during my off time when I have some leisure time, >> I sort of play video games. Um so you've been in the UAE for about 18 years. How did cricket sort of enter into your life over here?

[00:02:41]>> So my cricket um journey I would say started not from playing cricket but from watching a lot of cricket. So my grandfather was like a huge cricket fan like he would take like chuty from office and sit at home watch the five days of India test match just in front of the TV the entire time and I would sit and watch cricket alongside him and he'd try and explain position and I was like really young. I wouldn't understand as much but I was like okay this is a game of bat and ball you see ball you hit ball if you're throwing the ball you hit the stump so that's what the basics were sort of instilled and then he pushed me to go forward and give cricket a shot and I did that in my schooling over here where I tried out for the inter school team and which happened because I just didn't want to go to class so that sort of that mentality might have helped me as well.

[00:03:32]>> Yeah, that helped me a bit to sort of start getting into playing cricket. And once you start playing into school, you sort of get into the domestic circuit where you have your talent scouts. They come on in for these matches. They see, you know, they note down few players who they think have a lot of potential and slowly you enter to the into the domestic and international circuit.

[00:03:51]>> I started watching from the 2019 World Cup.

[00:03:54]>> Yeah.

[00:03:55]>> Yeah. So that's where I started watching and um that's where I started actually learning the game. So before that I didn't really know much about the game and yeah since since then I've been watching a lot of cricket. I literally watch like every time India play.

[00:04:07]>> Yeah it's always exciting.

[00:04:09]>> Yeah. So how did you make that move into the UAE team? Was just domestic like cricket as usual. So >> you know basically I I follow Indian cricket a lot. I follow the domestic like side um the rosters and everything and I know how the system works. It's basically from domestic to international and then they go to the IPL as well which boosts their chances. So how is it different here?

[00:04:32]>> So like you mentioned you know in India you have a lot of uh red ball cricket that's played.

[00:04:36]>> Exactly.

[00:04:37]>> Which is you have a lot of domestic tournaments set up. So you'd have the Vijay Hazar you have the Ranji trophy >> you have the Sai Mushtagali trophy. So these are just various formats of cricket. But what they do in India is because you play so much red ball cricket, it helps you get a lot better at your skills and um mentality for a white ball cricket game. Here as of now um the UAE does not have the test status. So we don't play a lot of red ball cricket here, but we do have um the T20 and ODI status for the men and women's team. So what that does is in the domestic circuit uh we have a lot of inter emirate matches and earlier when I started off obviously there weren't a lot of girls playing so the domestic pool was very small so we'd end up you know forming teams and playing um like academy leagues with the boys and the more matches you play and you perform in sort of the better you get at your game and you come into the eyes of the senior selectors and coaches so it's almost the same thing as India but then it's like the same format there's no like different tournaments and all that.

[00:05:41]>> Yeah, it's similar format because essentially your structure will still be the same that you start at a grassroot grassroot level and then you sort of build your way upwards with the help of your scouts, coaches and um you also have national team players. So they also play these domestic games. So for a newbie, if you're playing with someone who's already an international cricketer, it's like a mind-blowing moment because you have so much to learn from them, you know, and not just on the field, but when you're sitting outside, say your team's batting, you sit just, you just have to pull up a chair and sit next to one of them and then they'll explain it to you. Okay, this is the scenario. This is how you should be able to bat in this scenario. You know, what is the mindset that you would go with?

[00:06:22]And of course, every individual player would have a different mindset. So when you learn the mindset of other players, you sort of just mix it up in a salad and have your own mindset as you're playing the game.

[00:06:32]>> Which team did you play for in the domestic circuit?

[00:06:36]>> So we used to play for um our boards team. So the Emirates cricket board, >> we used to have an ECB team for the domestic circuits and that is if you get scouted through them. Otherwise nowies have their own girls team because there's so many girls out there that are playing cricket in the UAE right now and it's just it's fantastic to see. So you can play through themies, you can play mixed in with the boys team or you can play for the ECB team and I played for the ECB team.

[00:07:02]>> What was the biggest adjustment you had to make moving from uh domestic cricket to the international level? I think the biggest is that when you play in domestic you're used to playing against boys and in any sport you know the way boys would play is different than how girls would play cuz of course in cricket we also have the difference of you know the number of fielders that are kept outside the power play um the size of the ball so small things like that it's then more importantly the mindset because when you play with boys you have to toughen up a bit you know the ball is going to hit you a lot harder it's going to come at you a lot faster so you have you get >> I definitely agree with that yeah >> yeah you get adjusted to a type of mindset and then when you play international cricket with women of course it's a completely different ball game it's aggressive yes but it's more tactical I would say >> how important has support from family and coaches been throughout your journey >> oh family has been everything for me because in um over here we used to have our matches in the far corners of the country you know every weekend we'd have a match in Ajan we'd have to go somewhere in Ald for a game and sometimes we'd have to go to Abu Dhabi And this is before I got my license. So every weekend would just be parents waking me up at like 5:00 in the morning. They themselves getting out of their weekend fun trying to you know just make sure that I reach my training or my match on time and just they've been taking so much care of me when it comes to my balance with academics um spending family time together understanding that I'm really tired sometimes after sessions. So they've done a lot. Family support is really important.

[00:08:36]>> And coaches, >> coaches of course they shape you into the player that you want to be, the athlete that you want to be. You'll come across a lot of coaches um in your journey as an athlete. You'll have the strict one, you'll have the soft one, you'll have the understanding one. And I think you learn a lot from each and every one of them as in they all have different mindsets which gives you a lot of perspective um in terms of when you want to apply it in a game or situation.

[00:09:02]So I think coaches are really helpful like you should have multiple coaches for that.

[00:09:05]>> Yeah. Even my dad like supports me a lot. So I got into like you know communication speaking and then I also went to this um TEDx season street Pune.

[00:09:15]>> So my dad had to take all the effort to bring me all the way there and then now obviously I'm starting I'm starting my own podcast. So he supported uh me in that as well a lot.

[00:09:25]>> That's wonderful.

[00:09:26]>> Yeah. So what are some of the early challenges you faced? early challenges.

[00:09:31]So I was still um in high school when I started cricket cricket and taking it more seriously balancing it with academics. I mean it's the biggest thing because so my mom's a professor right and she's a professor of biotechnology which is a big field and a big word. So I knew that I had a certain academic um you know benchmark to keep up to and I did I wanted to maintain that because even logically speaking when you play a sport it only takes you to a certain point in your life you know till your body can handle it. After that you're going to have to depend on your intellect and your degree and your mind and how smart you actually are.

[00:10:09]>> Yeah.

[00:10:09]>> So it's always to maintain that balance of academics to try and do well in studies and in cricket. um you do have to make a few sacrifices but I think it it's really worth it.

[00:10:21]>> Yes. So I've heard like in in most families that eventually it comes to a point where you have to choose between sports and um >> academics. So when did you sort of make that decision?

[00:10:32]>> I don't think I had to exactly choose between because I had support from my parents for both. You know they never put it as a choice for me. They just said that whatever you want to do, you must excel in it, which makes sense. And I told them, I will choose sports because I do want to continue that, but I'm not going to give up on my academics for it. So, you're just going to have to help me keep a balance between that.

[00:10:56]>> Yeah. Even I try to balance stuff as well. So, um, when you first got the chance to represent the UAE women's team, have you ever doubted yourself? um doubted yourself for a moment out of nervousness or like some other reason.

[00:11:11]>> Yeah, I debuted in um the golf cup tournament which happened in 2022 and I remember you know we were called the day before our travel. It was held in Oman and they said oh you know come up collect your jerseys and all the stuff that you need to travel. I was like okay oh my god it's just fine. I reach there and I'm suddenly like so nervous just holding you know seeing my jersey with my name on it and it's it hits you at a point and when I made my debut I was um so nervous my hands were sweaty and I was like oh my god this is like actually happening and you do get those thoughts oh what if I fumble what if I mess up somewhere and at that point my captain had come up to me and she said that you're here because you deserve to be here like you got picked out of all the possible other choices that we had because you deserve to be here. You have that talent in you. It's just a matter of fact of you know implementing that which kind of helped settle my nerves.

[00:12:09]>> So who was your captain at that time?

[00:12:11]>> So this was the ex- captain of the team.

[00:12:13]Her name is Chaya and coincidentally I she was also my roommate on my debut tour and I was like oh my god I'm roomies with my captain. How's that going to go?

[00:12:23]>> That must have been like really supportive.

[00:12:24]>> Yeah. So she was she became a good friend because of that as well. like we were roomies for a really long time.

[00:12:29]>> Yeah, I was nervous as well on stage in Pune.

[00:12:32]>> I was shivering a lot like hundreds of people watching me, you know, but then when I started the speech, it got like my nerves eased a bit and yeah, >> it's just until you start out >> after it was like a big confidence booster.

[00:12:43]>> Yeah.

[00:12:44]>> Um what's something people don't see behind the scenes of being an international cricketer?

[00:12:50]I think of course there is the effort that they see because it shows on field but what you might not realize is you know the number of sacrifices that not just an athlete puts in but their family members as well because it's not easy you know you >> it's not easy >> yeah you have to keep pushing yourself to go for sessions you have to keep pushing yourself to perform and just the amount of support that they all give and even in terms of sacrifices you know especially if you're still a student or if you're working you miss out on times, you know, a catch up with friends or you miss out on something that's happening in your college or in school. But I think if you sort out your priorities and see what matters, I'd say your sport or your family would be a lot more important than that.

[00:13:35]>> You won your first international player of the match award pretty early on. Uh looking back, how special did you feel and what sort of stands out from that game? you know, it could be in terms of in terms of a performance standpoint or something entirely different that stood out to you.

[00:13:49]>> So, this is actually my second series with the national team and um it was a four match series against Hong Kong. I was out for the first three matches. I played the last match and I remember taking my first wicket that day on the worst possible ball that a bowler could ever imagine. It was an absolute freeful toss and the batter mistimed it and the fielder admit midon just catches it.

[00:14:16]>> The player of the match award must have been a great confidence boost. Um so was it after that where you felt like okay this is actually working. You're performing for the team. You have a great future ahead. Yeah, it's always special to get an international player of the match award and I feel like it not only boosts my confidence but makes you feel like you belong to the team. So I think that helped me a lot better.

[00:14:41]>> Um being part of the inaugural women's under 19 world cup in South Africa 2023 was huge. Um tell us some interesting moments from it.

[00:14:53]the first ever under9 women's world cup was held and I was just eligible and qualified for the team for that and that was just such a surreal experience because you know you're playing a world cup which is everything a cricketer could actually ever aspire to do but it's an under 19 world cup which means you are also with your best of pals you're with a team that's going to have a lot of fun and you're in South Africa. South Africa is just such a beautiful country to see and when you get to do that while playing cricket in one of the best weathers of the year, you know, it was in the month of January and we weren't allowed to go out as much because of course we were still minors, but we made sure we made up for that in terms of team activities. You know, we used to go playing hide-and-seek all around the hotel. We had treasure hunts and we did almost everything that we could to irritate and piss off our coaches. We would go around ding-dong ditching in the middle of the night and our coaches would always wonder, you know, what's going on until one of the days we decided to do this and little did we know that he had set up a small little camera right outside his door and dingdong ditched.

[00:16:15]Everything was done that night. Next day we had a meeting in the team. We discussed our strategies and all that getting ready to leave and he goes like, "By the way, I need to show you guys a clip." And then there's just five of us, you know, outside his door giggling, laughing, and knocking on the door. And we were caught so red-handed. Oh my god, it was it was a lot of fun, but the cricket was even better. We won our first match against Scotland. we made it through to the super sixes and you know it's just an insane experience playing with a crowd playing with teams that are not from your region and just getting that whole world cup experience you know we played against teams like India and Australia and some of the talents which we played back then are currently representing the main A team they are playing you know the WPL the BBL and there's just so many like good connections and friendships that you make at that time How has playing against stronger international teams changed the way you approach the game?

[00:17:17]>> I think it's always better to play against stronger teams. Um you win some, you lose most because these are teams who have had a structure for cricket much longer than you have. They have um a lot more legacy I would say and where there's legacy there's a lot more talent.

[00:17:36]>> Yeah, I feel the same as well. they should like face stronger opponents so that they can grow better. Their growth is better. They can they can get into like more global tournaments, world cups and all that. So I think it's important for the growth of the team in particular of the country.

[00:17:51]>> Yeah. Like so we recently got our ODI status for the women's team and our first ODI series was held um in Zimbabwe against Zimbabwe and um so Zimbabwe is a full member team which means they have a test status. So they are far more better in terms of you know facilities, talent and things like that. So we were really excited when we were you know we were going to tour Zimbabwe and we went there with an absolute fresh slate because it's our first ever ODI you know there's no expectations and we went there we leveled the ODI series against Zimbabwe which I think was a huge feat for us because it's not easy to come and do that against a team that has been playing the format for so long. So yeah it's always better to play against stronger opponents. In my research, I've learned that you've had an injury and then you sort of made your way back into the squad. How did you sort of deal with that phase mentally and physically? So, obviously coming back from an injury is really difficult because it's more mental, not physical.

[00:18:54]Um, I had an ACL tear in my left knee, which so I'm I'm pacer and that sort of puts strain on it and I wasn't taking proper care of it either. You know, we had backto-back tournaments, matches, trainings, everything. Yeah, definitely for a pacer it must be like even more tough.

[00:19:11]>> Yeah. And um it took a toll on me and I missed out on the Asia Cup in 2024.

[00:19:17]>> Oh, that that's a big that's a big tournament especially for UAE. Like that's a big tournament.

[00:19:21]>> It was a big tournament and I was so gutted when I missed that out and um unfortunately I had to but it gave me um you know a good amount of time to sort of get into rehab, fix my knee. I had um I had to make sure that it's completely solid so that I don't have to compromise again in the future which is what helped and injuries they're part of the sport whether you like it or not you have to acknowledge them you have to accept them and it's always better to stop when you feel you have an injury rather than you know just being macho and pushing through it >> so for me the mental aspect is not really like I mean yes for like first two days it is tough so basically I had um two fractures this year one on my ankle, one on my femur, you know, because I fell down. So, yeah, I had two fractures and you know, first two days was really tough mentally as well, you know, but then I sort of started accepting it. I know that I can't control it anymore. So, yeah, that mental aspect is not a physical aspect is is definitely tough because for me especially because my legs are already weak and then they get even more weaker.

[00:20:27]So, for me the physical uh one is more tough.

[00:20:31]Um you've also done radio commentary which is quite different from playing.

[00:20:35]Um what was it sort of like um seeing the game from that side you know analyzing it instead of um being on the field because um to me you know whenever I watch I I like require commentary I need to know the analysis I cannot watch a cricket game without the analysis. So how do you see it from that side of the game?

[00:20:54]>> Well absolutely you know I think um so as I mentioned I love watching the game.

[00:20:59]Watching cricket to me you learn a lot more than actually playing it because you get to see other professionals and other situations.

[00:21:06]I got into radio commentary because um the radio here when the WPL started started commentary and when they would do that they would invite a a player or two from the national team as guests to come and share our experience and stuff like that. and I got into it and I was like okay this is really fun like and I did another a few other um you know commentary tournaments as part of the radio as part as like a guest until last year when I got in through for the IPL and I covered that with them and it's just such a wonderful experience you know it is you learn a lot more you watch the game a lot more you're more involved in the cricket and I think it helped me a lot when I come back as a player cuz if I'm in a situation you know, which is new to me as a player, as a viewer. I'm like, okay, I saw this in that match, so maybe that's something I could try.

[00:21:59]>> That analysis definitely helps a lot.

[00:22:01]>> Definitely.

[00:22:01]>> Um, which all sports stars have you met so far?

[00:22:05]>> Oh, sports stars. Um, in the 2022 Asia Cup, I met Herman Prik, met Srati Mandhana. I um have met Rohit Sharma in a funny story.

[00:22:17]>> Oh, did you meet him exactly? I went last year in uh the IPL to watch him play in Mumbai and he scored 60 something and I was like tripula come back home to Dubai and I see that he's on my flight.

[00:22:31]>> Oh actually that is so >> and I'm like oh my god like and I'm a huge fan of Rohit Sharma. I'm like, "Oh my god, he's like here." And then I quickly rush up to the baggage belt, you know, seeing I was like, "I don't want to be a fan girl and all. I'll just like try to play it off cool." And then I go to the baggage belt and I see that he's there as well. And this was before most of the crowd from the flight had come on out. I was like, "This is my chance.

[00:22:56]Take it before the crowd comes." So I go up to him, I introduce myself, mentioned I play for the team, and took up a selfie with him. And yeah, that was >> that's really coincidental.

[00:23:05]>> Yeah. And I've got a weird experience with Harman Prior as well. So now in 2024 the women's world cup had happened here in Dubai and UAE didn't qualify but we were um going as net bowlers for them and had practice with the India team and I bowled to Harry and you know it was just surreal experience.

[00:23:26]Session I head back to the washroom to change. Now I'm in one of the stalls. My friend is in the next one standing outside and I'm just gushing about Ham Prik.

[00:23:36]I'm like, "Oh, if I get a photo with her, you know, I'll be insane." And I come out and she comes out of the next store. Damn. Okay.

[00:23:45]And she's like, "For mang." And I'm like, "Oh my god."

[00:23:49]>> Um, have you met anyone other than cricket or just cricket so far?

[00:23:54]>> Uh, I don't think I've come across any other famous athletes. If I have I might not have recognized them to be very frank but yeah mostly cricket stars.

[00:24:04]>> I've met Sanju Samson like twice you know Sanju Samson.

[00:24:08]>> Yeah.

[00:24:08]>> Yeah.

[00:24:09]>> And I also met um Nicholas Pur. I met Mohammed Wasim.

[00:24:13]>> Oh >> so that was in T20 I think MIT.

[00:24:17]>> I went to watch a match. I came out of the stadium and the players were also coming out. So I got a chance to beat them.

[00:24:23]>> Um then you know Formula 1.

[00:24:25]>> Yeah.

[00:24:26]>> I've I've met basically like almost all the drivers. So I went to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025.

[00:24:33]>> Um so I was going for the pit walk but then you know since I'm on a wheelchair is like a different way to go there and so you actually had to go there through the through the paddock club.

[00:24:43]>> Oh >> so I got inside the paddock and then all the drivers were coming inside.

[00:24:47]>> That is >> so I met every single driver like not every single but almost the entire grid.

[00:24:51]Uh I met Lewis Hamilton, Max Vstappen and Max Sam is my favorite like driver.

[00:24:57]So that was that was a cool moment. That was a really cool moment.

[00:25:00]>> That is really cool.

[00:25:01]>> And I've met Sanju Samson. He's my favorite T20 player currently.

[00:25:05]>> Nice. I like him too.

[00:25:08]>> You've smartly managed cricket with uh education all your life so far. Tell us more on how you coordinated that balance on a daily basis.

[00:25:17]>> It is a really tough balance because I sacrificed a lot on my you know social life and my sleep schedule as well. I would have you know early morning school and I you know I come back home just managed to grab a bite change and rush for training and I come back from training and I was exhausted and then you know the school homework which you have to do that's sit up all night doing that then eventually go to sleep and then get you know few hours of sleep before I manage to go back and wake up back and go to school but I think that's where your family support comes in because I had never had to I never had any academic pressure from them key oh you have to score well you have to you know get like a certain percent they just give me that freedom to study and if I needed help I could always go to them and even now you know with university and traveling so much between tournaments it is difficult to stay focused on what your degree is teaching you what your classes and what's being taught in your classes so just the help of your teachers and professors as well sort of gets you through the day um looking at women's cricket today How have you personally seen the game grow over the past few years?

[00:26:27]>> And I think women's cricket is just growing at an exponential rate. You know, you have cricket being played in countries that you might not have heard of. Cricket being played across Europe, the Americas, because we know it's always been there in Asia. That's not an issue. You have cricket being played at a grassroot level. You have cricket being played at the highest level possible. And I think the fact that there's fans also coming in to fill the stadiums to watch women's cricket matches even in the current WPL that's going on, it just shows the kind of support that women's cricket gets from the audience, which is great.

[00:26:58]>> What's one moment in your career that completely changed your mindset as a player.

[00:27:03]>> I think this was the 2024 global qualifiers. We were in the semi-finals with Sri Lanka and had we won that match we would have played the 2024 World Cup and we lost to Sri Lanka by 15 runs.

[00:27:16]>> That's it.

[00:27:18]Don't ask don't it hurts. And I remember that match ended and that was the end of us in that tournament. You know we had come out so far to play against Sri Lanka which is not a small team. And I think when your sport breaks you down to your core, you learn to build yourself back up just because you love that game so much, just because you want to play that game so much. So I think as a team that loss will always stay with us, that's not going to go anywhere. But the fact that it teaches us to always be grateful for what we have and to keep building and looking for more, I think that's what that one game really changed me as a player. I think that shows the tight margins as well in cricket. Oh yeah. Um now that we've talked about you know how your old career began and how it evolved, what in your opinion is your biggest achievement or your team's biggest achievement?

[00:28:13]>> I think the first one would be um our first qualification for the Asia Cup which happened in 2022 which I think set the p like it set the way for us to keep building and qualifying in the future as well.

[00:28:27]Secondly, I think um getting the ODI status, you know, it's a big jump for the team. It's a huge motivator to keep pursuing a lot more success in cricket as a team and I think that is really important when you look back and see that okay our you know seniors brought us from the till the T20 format we brought it till the ODI how do we set up a foundation for the future girls in you know future of women's cricket in Dubai in UAE.

[00:28:52]>> Now we're at the open-ended question segment of the day. um how has your fitness routine evolved as you've progressed to international cricket and how has your approach to training and recovery changed over time and how important do you think um fitness is to any sport not just cricket fitness is I think the most fundamental thing you need to play any sport because if it's a physical sport you need to be physically fit if it's a mental sport you need to be mentally fit and I think that those are two aspects that you require for all sports that you play for me physical fitness is really important important because you need to be able to maintain yourself as an athlete because if you're physically fit, it shows in your skills in your game because you can have all the skills in the world. Some people are born with it, some people acquire it.

[00:29:37]But if you're not fit enough to actually showcase those skills, it does not make any sense. My fitness routine is not very intense. I'll be honest, because I'm a big foodie. I love eating my food.

[00:29:48]I don't I don't compromise on my same.

[00:29:51]But it's just, you know, key if I'm going to if I know I'm going to have cholelay bad at the end of the day, I'm going to go and run an extra round. I'm going to push in a bit more just to make sure I earn my choleur. But I'm not going to compromise on that. You have to have a mix of things you like to eat and things that you should eat. You should have a healthy balanced diet. You should have your fiber, carbs, protein, everything. But that does not mean you cannot enjoy the occasional brownie once in a while.

[00:30:18]>> Yeah. No, I never compromise on that. I I really love eating. Um, so now we're at the like it's a small rapid fire segment. Um, >> go for it.

[00:30:27]>> Morning training or evening training?

[00:30:28]>> Evening training? Any day.

[00:30:30]>> Net sessions or match days?

[00:30:32]>> Net sessions. No days. Match days. Yeah, net sessions. I don't think that really made sense.

[00:30:38]>> Um, one place you've traveled that left an impression.

[00:30:41]>> Thailand.

[00:30:42]>> Oh, and what was that one thing that um stood out from that place?

[00:30:46]>> Oh, everything in Thailand. Thailand is just so beautiful and cheap. I heard the food is nice.

[00:30:51]>> The food is good. We don't experiment a lot on tours, but the food we had was really good.

[00:30:55]>> Um, music or silence before a game.

[00:30:58]>> Music for sure.

[00:31:00]>> One skill you're currently trying to improve the most.

[00:31:03]>> Yeah. In terms of cricket?

[00:31:04]>> Yeah.

[00:31:05]>> I think just trying to be a bit more calm and patient as I play my game.

[00:31:08]Being a bit more temperamental.

[00:31:10]>> And what is a new skill that you want to learn?

[00:31:12]>> A new skill probably a few bowling variations.

[00:31:15]>> Your favorite cricketers. One from the men's game and one from the women's.

[00:31:19]From the women's I have two >> that's fine >> it's Haran Priit Kore and South Africa's Marazan cup and from the men's it's Rohit Sharma hands down >> for me it's Virat Kohli I like Roh Sharma as well is like my number three >> number two is number two is Samson Kohli would be my number two >> um as an allrounder what do you enjoy more bowling or batting?

[00:31:40]>> Fielding does that count?

[00:31:42]>> Yeah, that that does count I guess.

[00:31:43]Yeah. Yeah, that does count. Um, speaking of pressure, how do you deal with pressure when expectations are high?

[00:31:51]>> I think listen to only voices that matter, nothing else. You know, the your coaches, your captain, and yourself.

[00:31:56]That's all. And pressure is going to be there in any situation. But I actually like pressure, whether it's, you know, you're playing in front of a crowd or if it's a big match, the more the better you perform under pressure situations, the more refined of a player you become.

[00:32:10]>> Uh, you I've heard you also play the piano. Mhm.

[00:32:14]>> Is that something you used to relax or is it more of like a serious passion?

[00:32:19]>> It's a bit of both. It was a passion earlier, but now I don't play it as often, so it's like a stress buster for me where I know I'm going to panic. I sort of just sit down at my piano.

[00:32:28]>> Um, what's something new you've tried recently? It could be anything from like a food to a new activity.

[00:32:33]>> I tried to learn how to stitch and knit and it was a disaster, but I tried.

[00:32:39]>> Um, what's the one thing that you like the most about living in the UAE? It's comfortable. It is. It's home. I've been here almost my entire life. And you know, it's where my family is. It's where my friends are. I know the place.

[00:32:51]I know the country. It's just home >> for me. It's the accessibility because it's it's very wheelchair friendly. I can go around places and >> Yeah, that's why it's comfortable as well. It's definitely comfortable.

[00:33:02]>> Um, what's the one thing that you dislike about this place?

[00:33:06]>> It keeps changing every few months, man.

[00:33:08]Every time I'm back from a tournament, there's something new or the other.

[00:33:10]That's >> I hate the traffic. I absolutely hate the traffic.

[00:33:13]>> And the traffic.

[00:33:14]>> So bad.

[00:33:14]>> Let's not go there.

[00:33:16]>> Um, what other sports do you like other than cricket?

[00:33:20]>> I like to play badminton once in a while. I used to play basketball a lot earlier, so that was also pretty fun.

[00:33:26]But yeah, just sticking to that.

[00:33:28]>> Favorite cuisine?

[00:33:29]>> Italian.

[00:33:30]>> Oh, I I like Italian as well. Yeah, Italian is nice.

[00:33:33]>> Italian is good.

[00:33:34]>> Italian is good. Um, so finally for young girls and athletes listening right now who are trying to find their way, what's one message, one piece of advice you'd want them to um take away from your journey?

[00:33:47]>> I think just sort as passionate about your game as possible. You know, you'll have challenges that'll come along the way, but it's important you find ways to overcome that instead of just, you know, giving up or accepting defeat. You'll have to push through barriers time and time again. But it's important that not only you back yourself to do it but you need to believe in yourself that yes you actually can to have that confidence in yourself.

[00:34:12]>> Um future plans after cricket.

[00:34:14]>> Future plans I am pursuing a degree in biomedical science. So hopefully something in tunes to that and always try to maintain a connection to cricket.

[00:34:23]So maybe look forward for a bit of more commentary.

[00:34:26]>> Um all right with this we have come to the end of this interaction. Uh thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing your experiences and the true lessons you learned along the way as well as your challenges. Um it was a true joy to have you as a guest.

[00:34:39]>> Thank you so much. I had a really really fun time with you Sakam. Thank you.

[00:34:43]>> Thank you. This is precisely what Loki unfiltered is about viewers. Open discussions that help you think beyond the box. I also hope that everyone had something to take away from this from this conversation from this episode. Um before I sign out, let me mention a truth bomb about my YouTube channel.

[00:35:01]I'll be soon coming up on camera playing video games, um making videos as an enjoyable small little initiative just like other major game makers out there.

[00:35:11]Um there will be plot arcs, chuckles, and of course a little fun. Um having said that, I will see you all soon um with yet another interesting and insightful episode of Loki unfiltered.

[00:35:21]Till then stay tuned and have a wonderful day. Thank you.