India’s squad for the inaugural 2022 Under-19 Women’s World Cup had a notable omission in Niki Prasad. People who had followed the domestic Women’s Challengers Trophy had known the Bengaluru teen’s technical prowess and not seeing her name came as a surprise.
She had just led Karnataka to the final of the BCCI U-19 Women’s T20 Trophy and top scored for the team with 203 runs from seven innings at an average of 29.
Mumbai-based talent scout Nisarg Naik had posted this on Twitter (Now X): “Calling it in 2023: Niki might have missed the squad now, but she’ll captain the 2025 Women’s U19 World Cup. Mark this tweet.”
The prediction came true when the squad was announced for the 2025 edition last December. It wasn’t just fate that brought Prasad there.
The most glaring aspect of her tally in the 2022 domestic U-19 T20 tournament was her strike rate of 88.26. If she needed to make it to the next level, her hitting ability had to improve. She changed her diet, preferring only home-cooked meals and worked countless hours in the gym to improve her strength.
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In practice sessions, she had focused purely on honing her bat speed and generating power through the shots.
“So any loose ball I get in the match, I just want to ensure it goes outside the ground. So that’s how I do only power-hitting the first three days a week. And then for three days, I bat in the nets, see the ball, play, place it,” she told Cricket.com in a recent interview.
Combining these with her strategic acumen, Prasad led Karnataka to Under-19 Women’s T20 Trophy in 2023. In the final against Andhra in Amtar, Prasad added a crucial 19 on a minefield pitch where batting was a perilous task. She masterminded her team to defend just 93 runs, which further propelled her reputation as a captain.
Then came the 2024 U-19 Women’s Challenger T20 Trophy where she led Team C to the title and also top scored in the tournament with 162 runs off four innings and with an improved strike rate of 125.
It made Prasad an obvious choice for the Under-19 Women’s Asia Cup in Malaysia last year which India completely dominated. They got the better of every opponent with ease and chased down every target they were set within 15 overs. Prasad’s tactical acumen was integral in the final against Bangladesh where the defended a paltry 118. She used a total of seven bowlers with the strike bowlers running through their opponents batting order while the others removed the tail to win the trophy.
During the course of the tournament, Prasad received another delightful news that she was bought by Delhi Capitals in the Women’s IPL for INR 10 lakhs.
There is much more to come as she will be sharing the Delhi Capitals dressing room with four-time World Cup-winning captain Meg Lanning.
“I’ll have certain conversations and ask many things from Meg Lanning and Marizanne Kapp. And then we have our very own Jemimah Rodrigues,” she had told Cricket.com.
It was evident that the reins for the second edition of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup were in assured hands and the opening match against the West Indies proved it. The defending champions skittled out the Windies for just 44 runs and bulldozed the target within 4.2 overs. Niki, who idolises Harmanpreet Kaur and Rahul Dravid, is imbibing their principles of leadership.
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