Secunderabad’s Drithi Kesari aims to raise the bar, be more consistent, make it to seniors team

Drithi Kesari is now dreaming big by making amends and becoming a more successful all-rounder and not just focus only on bowling

HYDERABAD: For someone who watched India win the Women’s (under-19) T-20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur having not played a single match, the 19-year-old Drithi Kesari is clearly in the mood to be out there in the thick of it – making it to the seniors team soon.

Drithi, the off-spinner who has finished the league engagements as the highest wicket-taker in the league phase (knock-out will be held in Guwahati next week) of the BCCI Women’s (under-23), is now dreaming big by making amends and becoming a more successful all-rounder and not just focus only on bowling.

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“Yes, the biggest lessons from the experience of the victorious campaign in the Under-19 World Cup are to be a complete player, raise the bar and be more consistent,” Drithi informed ‘Telangana Today’.

“And, a mindset which ensures that I always stay positive,” she added.“This doesn’t necessarily mean I will be trying out new things. But the emphasis is on consistency, I repeat, with greater variations even as I feel my strong point is the stock ball – the off-spinner,” said the trainee at Rama Naidu Cricket Academy where former Andhra Ranji captain and ex-BCCI junior national selection panel chairman V. Chamundeshwaranath has been mentoring her for the last few years.

With inputs from the likes of former India left-arm spinner S.L. Venkatapathi Raju and another ex-India star Noel David, Drithi is gearing up for the immediate challenge of making a bigger impact in the knock-out phase next week and make it to the Asia Cup in May this year.

“With the Zonal camps scheduled soon to form the core group of players with an eye on the coming World Cup, I am conscious of the challenges and preparations needed to counter them,” said a confident Drithi.

With father Srikanth Kesari, who was himself a former Hyderabad opener and off-spinner and also had a stint in the Middlesex Minor County, it was natural for Drithi, a huge fan of Virat Kohli and also a second year student of BBA in Jahnavi Degree College (Secunderabad), to look to success in the next few, crucial months.