How’s Happy Kumari Quest For Bowling Fast Landed Her A Spot In Gujarat Giants

How’s Happy Kumari quest for bowling fast landed her a spot in Gujarat Giants (Image Source: IANS)

SS Mody Cricket Academy: When Happy Kumari's name flashed on the WPL mega auction broadcast and Gujarat Giants (GG) picked her for a base price of Rs 10 lakh, her family back in Jhunjhunu erupted with joy.

Even as her neighbours burst crackers to celebrate the young pacer’s maiden foray into the tournament, Happy’s coach Ajay Kumar cried through that night and only spoke to her in the morning. The selection into WPL 2026 is a big step in the remarkable cricketing journey that began nearly five years ago.

"I was watching the auction at that time with my team-mates as I was there at the RCA facility. As soon as my name came up, Gujarat Giants raised their paddle very quickly, though I didn't see what happened till the end. But then I got to know that I will be playing for them in this WPL.

“The morning after that, my coach finally talked to me. He was still very happy at that moment and had tears of joy. In all, everyone were very happy and sent videos of all shouting and bursting crackers," Happy, 18, recalled in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

Happy's path to professional cricket was anything but conventional. Growing up in Jhunjhunu, Happy was into athletics as a 100m and 200m specialist. She had no intentions of picking up cricket till she attended a summer camp after the second Covid-19 wave subsided. "I didn't have any intentions as such to get into playing cricket. I didn't like cricket that much and I didn't even wish to watch it,” she recalled.

It took her father's gentle persuasion to get her enrolled in a 15-day summer camp at a nearby academy. "At that time, my dad told me, 'Let us go and try something new in the 15-day summer camp and go to the nearby academy'. I went with my dad and on the very first day, we saw that there were a lot of boys. I told my dad, 'I won't play in the middle with so many boys around.

“He said, 'No problem, I'll take you every day. I'll come to drop and then pick you up. You just play for 15 days'. I started playing and my coach created such an environment for me that all the bhaiya log used to give me extra batting and bowling," she said.

That environment proved to be transformative, as in those 15 days, cricket had gone from an unwanted experiment to a calling for Happy. "I used to enjoy there and then I thought, 'Yes, I'm improving, and enjoying', and there's no reason to not play cricket. After 15 days of camp, I joined the academy for three months. After 4-5 months, I was like, 'Yes, now I have to play cricket as my career only.'

“It was because I improved at that time and also, my coach gave me confidence. Plus, in that environment, teammates were like, 'Yes, Happy, you can do it. You can play with boys and keep improving with us'," she said.

The training required extraordinary commitment from both Happy and Ajay. With his younger son in tow, Ajay would pick up Happy from her house on his bike for the journey to the academy and do the same when training was over.

"The academy is around 5-7 kms away from my house and I once went to the academy on the bike with him. My grandmother would tell sir, 'Beta, we are trusting you a lot. Please take care of our daughter.'

He then replied, 'Why should I trust anyone else? I'll pick and drop her by myself.' With his younger son, the three of us used to sit on the bike and go to the academy and the same would happen in the evening as well."

But it was the pre-dawn training sessions that truly tested everyone's resolve. With a 6:30am school bus to catch, Happy's training day often began at 4am, much to the chagrin of sleeping neighbours.

"I had to go to school by 7am and my bus would come 30 mins before. I had to wake up early to train in the morning. My coach used to come to my house at 4am and we used to do knocking of the bats. My neighbours would get very disturbed and say, 'What is the need to play so early in the morning? You are ruining our sleep.’," she recalled.

Coming from a family where she’s the eldest of three daughters and a grandfather who is a retired major, Happy found unwavering support at home. "It was just a coincidence that we were trying and the rest of the family was okay that I was trying to play cricket. My family never said no to anything. They are very open and said, 'Whatever you want to do, we'll support you'. So they were like, 'Yes, she's playing cricket. Let her play.'," she said.

Like most young cricketers, Happy started as a batter. But her athletics background caught Ajay's eye, and he saw the potential of Happy being a fast bowler. "I wanted to bat the most in the academy. I used to stand and get the bat in hand, and everyone used to make me bowl a lot. Due to me dabbling in athletics, I was strong in running and my coach was like, 'Let us try fast bowling.'," she recalled.

The transition was gradual but purposeful. Ajay ensured Happy prioritised raw pace over accuracy, believing that speed was the rare commodity that could set his young trainee apart from other female pacers. "I began by bowling from running 4-5 steps. Then gradually, it became smooth as my speed was good too.

“My coach was like, 'At such a young age, girls don't have this good speed for fast bowling. So let us develop this speed and we'll get to line and length afterwards.' He told me that it's a matter of 4-5 months to get line and length right, but speed is very important. If I want to look different from everyone, then I will have to work upon it.

“I started enjoying fast bowling and as I improved in 1-1.5 years, I was like, fast bowling is earning me good rewards, as well as showing and presenting me better in front of people. So after that, I said, yes, I want to become a fast bowler," she recalled.

As her bowling developed, Happy found inspiration in the legendary Jhulan Goswami, as well as in Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar provided for the speed and aggression she wanted to emulate.

"When I started moving forward in fast bowling, I watched Jhulan Goswami and a lot of Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar bowling videos for speed and aggression. I used to watch them and wanted to develop my speed just like how they did. Also Jhulan Goswami used to bowl at 125 plus and it made me feel that I have to also bowl at a certain speed."

Ajay’s dedication to Happy's development was all-consuming. When he left JIVEM Cricket Academy for SS Mody Cricket Academy, Happy followed him without hesitation. The training regimen was grueling - while others trained for four hours, Ajay pushed Happy to train for seven to eight hours.

Morning sessions before school focused on batting, sprinting and stamina work. Evening sessions brought specialized training. "When I started playing cricket, I didn't have much idea about training. My coach used to tell me that we should train early in the morning. Before going to school, we used to bat first. But at the same time, we used to do some running and sprinting to develop some stamina.”

“Sir gives me special training and has put a lot of effort in me to become a hero from zero. If everyone was practicing for 4 hours, he would say, 'Happy, you will have to practice for 7 to 8 hours if you have to become something different'."

At home, her mother took charge of nutrition. “After coming back from school, my mother used to give me some good food and she has been taking care of my diet since the time I began training.”

While fast bowling remains her primary weapon, Happy hasn't neglected her batting. "I also do a lot of batting practice. If you are talking about domestic level, I used to bat second or third down. I keep fast bowling as my main priority.

“But along with that, I do batting also. If I get batting down the order, then we have to bat a little. It's not like I will ignore batting, as I have to develop skills in it also. So I am also focused on batting. If it is 70% bowling practice, then I do batting also for 30% of the time."

2024 proved to be Happy's breakthrough year. She made her Rajasthan debut in U19 T20s as vice-captain before being elevated to captain for the one-day games. Soon after, selection for the Under-19 Challenger Trophy came, followed by being selected for U19 World Cup camp, a tri-series in Pune, and making it as a standby for the Asia Cup.

"2024 was certainly a year where I got the feeling that I am growing and getting noticed by people. With me growing so much, I got a feeling that I am getting closer to that tag of playing for India," she said.

The WPL franchises noticed too. Happy attended four trials ahead of the mega auction, though an injury prevented her from participating in Gujarat Giants' trials. "Due to me being on the targeted players list, VVS Laxman sir also refused for me to go to GG’s trials and I didn't go.

“I instead sent them my videos and due to me doing well in all four trials, I had expectations that RCB will take me in. At that time, I didn't talk to GG that much, so it was a little surprising that they picked me. Then I recalled that they were following me domestically, like in the T20 games."

For an intelligent Happy, bowling fast remains her calling card, an attribute that distinguishes her in a crowded field. She knows exactly what WPL 2026 should prove to be: a launchpad for her to get into the Indian team.

"I worked on my pace from the start and that's the only thing which differentiates me from the rest of the pacers. It should be like if one talks about Happy, people should say ‘Oh, she bowls fast.’ If I get a chance to play in WPL, the aim is to perform well.

For an intelligent Happy, bowling fast remains her calling card, an attribute that distinguishes her in a crowded field. She knows exactly what WPL 2026 should prove to be: a launchpad for her to get into the Indian team.

After remaining persistent through a roller-coaster of events, Happy finally finds herself in WPL’s spotlight, which should be the threshold of a good cricketing career for her. The real challenge now begins – of transforming raw promise into performances that can carry Happy to wearing the India blue jersey she has always chased.

Article Source: IANS