It was a dream-like moment for B Monisha and V Paulraj, who were a part of the team that won Street Children World Cup at Lords, when they interacted with International cricket players, Sam Curran and Joe Root through video conferencing, recently. "When we got to know that we were going to interact with them, I could not contain my excitement. I could not sleep for two days and continuously thinking about questions I could ask them,-" said 16-year-old Monisha.
In a video conference discussion, Paulraj and Monisha quizzed the England players on how they got into the game, swapped stories about winning a World Cup at Lord's and discussed the upcoming England versus India Test series. "What enthralled me the most was that they told both us and them are equal. Both of us lifted the World Cup and that we should continue to chase our dreams. They are the first international cricketers we got to interact with," said Monisha.
Just a month before England ODI captain, Eoin Morgan, lifted the 2019 ICC World Cup at Lord's, Paulraj and his teammates clinched the Street Child Cricket World Cup, beating Team England at the same ground, with captain Paulraj lifting the trophy. "It was a very interesting interaction. My whole perspective of international cricket players and how they come up changed when Joe Root narrated his story. Assuming that all players abroad directly start their career from net practice, I was telling them about my story from beginning in the street. That was when Joe Root said his play too began in the street,-" said Paulraj. "Of course the economic conditions are different. But the hardwork one has to put to get through the game is the same," said the 18-year-old.
The duo innocently 'warned' the England cricket team about India's players and their strong points and how they must be prepared for the upcoming Test series. "We were talking to them about how they must be careful about Bumrah and Natarajan among others. They said both the teams are in good form and that they are excited,-" said Paulraj.Sam Curran and Joe Root promised signed shirts and batting gloves to help raise awareness for the cause of street children and inspire others to follow Monisha and Paulraj's example.Monisha says before the next Street Children World Cup set to be held in 2023 in India, funding must be improved so that the gameplay can be better. "We had to borrow money even for flight tickets in 2019. That must not repeat in the upcoming world cup. The country has seen a victory and if that has to follow, funding would be of a major help," she highlighted.
