Agra: All eyes are on the women’s cricket team as India go to play England in the World Cup finals at Lords on Sunday. Will they achieve what the men’s team could not recently? For former cricketer Sumit Sharma, the World Cup will be the biggest rakhi gift for him if his younger sister, Deepti, a Team India star, and her mates win it.At 19, the left-handed batter and right-arm offbreak bowler, is the youngest in the team. Deepti is also a three-time world record holder for highest number of runs and wickets in ODIs.Sumit, who runs a cricket academy here, spoke with TOI about the dream chase of Deepti and his contribution in making her an all-rounder for the Women in Blue.“She is a hard worker, never gives up. For nearly a decade, we both have worked hard to achieve what we have now. We used to practice eight to nine hours a day. I gave up cricket and my career to help my sister grow in the game,” said Sumit. Deepti is the youngest of seven siblings.Walking down memory lane, Sumit recalled the day when Deepti was just eight years old and surprised current chairperson of Indian women’s cricket selection committee Hemlata Kala with her throw from a distance of more than 50 metres.“Around 2005-06, when I used to practice at Eklavya stadium (Agra), Deepti used to accompany me and watch players practising in the nets. One day, when former cricketer Kala hit a ball in the stand and asked Deepti to throw it back, she knocked the bails off, stunning the veteran international level player. That day, Kala called me and said, ‘I don’t know whether you will play for the Indian team or not, but I guarantee your sister will be playing for the team’.”Since then, both brother and sister started practising together. “In 2010, when Deepti started playing for the UP under 19 team, I went for MBA studies and later joined a company in Ghaziabad. During this period, Deepti lost her edge and her performance went down,” said Sumit.Determined to help his sister improve her game, Sumit quit his job. “I resigned and persuaded my family, especially parents, to let me work on Deepti’s game and improve her performance. We both worked hard for the next two years and later she was selected in the Indian team,” he said.Former test and ODI international cricketer Rita Dey and Deepti’s coach Vipin Awasthi also helped the duo achieve the goal.Sumit’s selfless effort and hard work for his sister was recently acknowledged by master blaster and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. In his tweet Sachin said, “Deepti Sharma's journey on the road to cricket greatness began early. Her brother's support helped her achieve her goal.”In May, Deepti and Poonam Raut became the first-ever pair to share a 300-run stand in an ODI. The duo shared a 320-run stand as the team finished with 358 for three in 50 overs against Ireland at Potchefstroom during the quadrangular series in South Africa. In the same match, Deepti became second highest individual scorer in ODI with 188 runs.She also holds the world record of six wickets in 9.2 overs, conceding only 20 runs against Sri Lanka in February 2016 at an ODI match in Ranchi.

Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.