This is the moment we wanted to live: Nooshin

Nooshin Al Khadeer, seen with former India captain Mithali Raj.
| Photo Credit: File Photo: V.V. Subrahmanyam

For long, Nooshin Al Khadeer has preferred to be behind the scenes of cricketing action once she quit in 2012 as a highly successful India cricketer — one of the very few in international women’s cricket to pick up 100 ODI wickets.

But, when the Hyderabadi as chief coach guided India to the women’s World Cup (under-19) title-triumph, she looked finally at ease at being in the limelight.

“This is the moment we wanted to live and we lived it yesterday,” 41-year-old Nooshin told The Hindu after the Indian girls scripted the historic moment in South Africa on Sunday.

“See, there is a process heading into any ICC event, more so in this World Cup. We trusted it as a unit and the results are there for all to see,” she said.

“I should say three key aspects that stand out for this World Cup victory are: preparations, for which we are grateful to the BCCI and the NCA; role clarity, each player being told clearly what is expected of her on a given day; and taking it game by game,” Nooshin explained.

“Definitely, we (the support staff) always sent one message before every match — have a great time, don’t overburden yourself with anything else,” she said. “The communication channels between the players and support staff were always very clear and open for free expression of thought in the team’s cause,” Nooshin said.

“I must say Shefali (Verma) as captain was brilliant. You won’t believe that for many members of this team it was a big fan moment even to meet her. So you can understand their state of mind playing with someone like Shefali. And to her credit, she made them feel very comfortable, put team interests ahead of everything else,” she said.

“Personally, too, it was a great moment. I remember in 2005 I was member of the Indian team that finished runner-up in the senior women’s World Cup in South Africa. So, finally there is a World Cup trophy to look back at now,” she said with a big smile.

On future roles, Nooshin said she always takes things as they come.