A little cricket star
Six-year-old Mehak Fathima from Kerala is in the news for her potential to become India’s future cricket star
ON MEHAK’S INTEREST IN THE GAME, THE MOTHER SAYS, “ONE DAY, MUNEER WAS PLAYING WITH OUR THREEYEAR-OLD SON MUHAMMED WHEN SHE CAME AND ASKED, ‘DADDY, WHY ARE YOU NOT MAKING ME A CRICKETER?’ THAT’S WHEN HER FATHER TOOK INTEREST IN HER CRICKET.”
She sometimes uses a stump for a cricket bat. But no matter what she uses to hit the ball out of the park, little Mehak has been practicing hard to fulfil the dream her father could not — to become a cricketer.
Speaking from her home in Thrissur, Mehak’s mother Khadeeja tells us that Mehak’s dad, a businessman named Muneer NK, had long ago been selected to play in the Under-14 age group for Calicut University. “He, however, could not pursue his dream as his orthodox family did not allow him to play,” Khadeeja adds.
Mehak, a first standard student in Thodannur MLP School, started playing cricket eight months ago. Presently, she has joined Loongs Cricket Academy, where coaches Sathish Pillai and Giriprasad MV — both certified BCCI Level A coaches — have been teaching her the basics of the game. The director of the academy is Tony Emmaty, BCCI’s First Class national umpire.
Elaborating more on Mehak’s interest in the game, the mother says, “One day, Muneer was playing with our three-year-old son Muhammed when she came and asked, ‘Daddy, why are you not making me a cricketer?’ That’s when her father took interest in her cricket.”
The father, with whom Mehak usually watches all the IPL matches, posted a video of her playing some elegant shots with her bat (and sometimes with a stump). The video soon went viral on social media, and it caught the attention of Team India captain Virat Kohli, women’s team players Smriti Mandhana and Jemina Rogdrigues who could not resist applauding the kid even as they sent her motivating messages.