The 29-year-old all-rounder Rubiya Syed from south Kashmir, who has been picked up by the Gujarat Giants for the upcoming Women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) has a dream to join the national women’s cricket team.
Hailing from village Budasgam in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Rubiya became the second Kashmiri woman to have been selected for the cricket tournament. Jasia Akhtar, a right-handed batter, was the first woman cricketer from Kashmir who had also played for the IPL team.
Obviously, I am feeling very happy for a call from the IPL …I am very excited to join the Gujarat Giants as early as possible”, Rubiya said.
The woman cricketer has been playing cricket since 2012 and has represented the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) for the last several years.
And after getting selected, she has a dream, which is to join the national women’s cricket team.
“I want to see myself in the India eleven to play international cricket to show my capability and to make the name of the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir ‘, Rubiya said.
She said to achieve a spot, everyone has to fight and struggle very hard.
“My teachers did hard work to ensure I reached this spot,” she said. “I feel excited when I still see my mentors around and guiding me on the right path.”
She said her teachers guided her when school national cricket tournaments were being held, and later coaches taught her technical and other aspects of the game.
“But the foundation was laid at the school by my teachers,” she said.
Her father, Ghulam Qadir Sheikh, a fruit merchant, has always supported Rubiya despite financial constraints.
She studied at the girls higher secondary school in Budasgam, and right from school days, Rubiya started playing cricket under the guidance of her teachers, who taught her about the game.
“I am sure that I will play cricket in the world arena”, she said.
