WPL 2025: Do Your Thing, Stay Focused And Be Humble – The Niki Prasad Way Of Living Life

WPL 2025: Do your thing, stay focused and be humble – the Niki Prasad way of living life (Image Source: IANS)

For Niki Prasad: For Niki Prasad, February 2025 was a truly monumental month. She captained India to victory in the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, and then, on her Women’s Premier League debut in Vadodara, she scored a match-winning 35 for the Delhi Capitals against the Mumbai Indians.

One might think Niki, 19, would be swayed away by huge adulation and immense rise in her popularity, but she remains remarkably humble. “I don’t think that I need to force this in me because I’ve always had this thing in me that, wherever I go, I’ve just been humble. That is life for me - no matter what success and failures you get, you just need to look at life in a very simple way. Just do your thing, stay focused and stay humble - which just has been my thing.”

“I definitely feel very proud and very happy about whatever has been happening in my life. It feels very nice to win the Under-19 World Cup for the second time. Also, I’m really grateful for the opportunity that I’ve been getting here in DC by playing the WPL matches. I just want to go out there on the field and really show what I can do and keep expressing myself by having fun,” said Niki, PUMA’s newest brand ambassador, in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

Niki’s WPL debut at Kotambi Stadium gave her a formidable challenge: 89 runs to win off 65 deliveries, and the top four batters, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Annabel Sutherland, were already back in the dressing room.

That’s when Niki stepped in to calm things for Delhi – sharing stands of 33 and 31 with Alice Capsey and Sarah Bryce. In addition, Niki remained calm under pressure, accumulating 35 runs from 32 balls, only to be dismissed just before DC reached their target on the last ball.

“Firstly, I was really happy that I was playing that day and making my debut for DC. It was a really big thing for me because I’ve dreamt about playing the WPL and really winning the match for my team. I had that opportunity and I just wanted to stay calm, stay in that moment and just do the thing what I had to do,” she said.

Following her taking the Player of the Match award, Niki received a special congratulatory message from Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of MI and the Indian team. “After the match, I met Harman di and she congratulated me - firstly, on winning the U19 and then she told me that I played well and was calm throughout the innings. It felt nice to hear that from Harman di.”

With a calm, confident, and clear demeanour, Niki believes she gets the sense of calmness from her mother. “She’s always a calm person, and I think I’ve got that from her. She’s always made sure that whenever I play any matches or, meet people or whatever it is, I’m humble, especially on the ground as well. I know that, whenever I have to lead a side, I need to stay calm and really set standards for my team. So, that comes handy in the captaincy by staying calm.”

A recent photo of Niki and her mom at her hometown Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium after a DC game stirred cherished childhood memories for the right-handed batter.

“It brings back those memories of my childhood days where I used to go to play matches and my mom would be sitting there and watching me play. So, it felt quite special and nice that she was here in the stadium in Bengaluru, watching me play.”

“It’s a good feeling to have seeing that one person being there cheering for you, and as someone who’s been through your entire life journey and seen the struggle, cries, and happiness. So, it felt very nice that she was there.”

The significant changes Niki made to her on and off-field lifestyle after failing to make it to the 2023 U19 Women’s T20 World Cup squad are well-documented. Those efforts paid off when it culminated in her becoming the second Indian captain to win U19 Women’s T20 World Cup trophy.

According to Niki, the India U19 team’s success hinged on everyone having perfectly clear roles in a relaxed and friendly environment. “One reason why I was so calm and able to do the rotation of the bowlers so smoothly is that everyone were really clear about their goals. The credit also goes to our support staff for making sure that everyone’s really clear about their goals and roles.”

“They knew what they have to do. So, that made things much easier for me on the field, and that’s how everything went smoothly. It really looked like we were there to dominate and we really dominated throughout the tournament.”

Within the glitz of DC, Niki has taken deep learnings about the importance of humility, as well as separating the personal and professional lives by talking to big international players, Indian cricketers and legendary figures in the set-up.

“One thing which I’ve noticed in all of them is that they are really humble. For them, cricket is different and the outside life is different. On the field, you see the aggression and everything around it. But outside the field, they are the sweetest persons and that is something you need to have.”

“When you’re on the field, you are there for cricket and to dominate. But when you’re outside the field, you just need to do your own thing and just be comfortable. That’s what I’ve been getting from all the players over here - they’ve also made me feel really comfortable.”

“Going and talking to any person feels nice because of the kind of vibe they bring, and conversations you can have with them. It feels really comfortable, as staying humble is something that is common in everyone here in DC.”

Niki and MI’s Amelia Kerr are currently tied for the most catches taken by fielders in WPL 2025, with five each. Happiness is the source of Niki’s fielding mantra, as evidenced by her excellent, well-judged catch to dismiss Kashvee Gautam this week.

“I’ve enjoyed fielding since childhood and it’s something I love doing. When I’m on the field, even though I’m not batting or not bowling, I feel doing fielding makes me really happy and I love doing what makes me happy. So that’s why the efforts are also seen on the field.”

Aside from the cricket life, Niki stated she’s happy about not yet getting into that writing exams phase while pursuing a BBA in sports management from PES University in Bengaluru. “It’s been a little difficult managing both cricket and studies. But there has been no pressure from my parents which made it much easier, especially my mom, she asked me to just focus on cricket and leave studies aside for a while.

“But I have made sure that whatever examination and standard I am in, I just want to finish it. For me, it’s like I want to also get a degree and play higher level of cricket.”

Aside from the cricket life, Niki stated she’s happy about not yet getting into that writing exams phase while pursuing a BBA in sports management from PES University in Bengaluru. “It’s been a little difficult managing both cricket and studies. But there has been no pressure from my parents which made it much easier, especially my mom, she asked me to just focus on cricket and leave studies aside for a while.

Article Source: IANS