Eliminating poverty, poor infrastructure and gender stereotypes, Kalaiyarsee wins a major
Eliminating poverty, poor infrastructure and gender stereotypes, Kalaiyarsee wins a major
Growing up in his village in the North Kilinochchi district of Sri Lanka, Sathasivam Kalaiyarsi had one dream – to play cricket for Sri Lanka. It came true this week, when she made it to the country’s Under-19 team, becoming the first Tamil girl to enter the national cricket arena.
“It is my father who got me interested in cricket and supported me. I’m here because of him,” says the slender teenager dressed in dark blue and red training gear. Her recent selection not only sparked the sport’s aspirations in the pre-war zone, but also some much-needed enthusiasm for the locals. The Layas, who, like many other Sri Lankans, are facing severe shortages and power cuts due to the national economic crisis.
A keen follower of cricket, Ms. Kalaiyarsi’s father asked his daughter to watch matches with her as a child. Seeing her playing the game well, local coach Jeevanrathinam Priyadarshan focused on honing her skills. “He is a formidable fast bowler, very consistent and confident. Recently his batting has also improved a lot. I watch him try the leg side shots that I play, and they keep getting better day by day,” says the proud mentor. “What did he hit, six sixes, in a zonal match held earlier this week?” He asks his student. “Seven, sir,” she gently corrects him.
The news of her selection came just a month before Ms. Kalaiyarsi’s 16th birthday. If she makes it to the final U-19 national team from the provisional squad, she will have a good three years to go through professional training and playing competitive international cricket. “She is leading in points right now and will definitely get there,” says Koch. Sri Lanka’s T20 captain Chamari Athapaththu is her idol. “I want to play like him,” says Ms. Kalaiyarsee.
On Saturday morning, Ms Kalaiyarsee was meeting her coach at a ground in Vadakachi, once the administrative capital of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), about 10 km from Kilinochchi town and two military posts, by the Liberation Tigers. Thirteen years after the war ended, armed military men could be seen on many streets in the Tamil majority north and east of Sri Lanka.
It was not a scheduled practice session, as his coach was training the boys’ volleyball team at the time. “In our society, it is rare to see parents supporting a girl child to pursue a sports career. But Kalaiyarsi’s parents are an exception,” says Mr. Priyadarshan. His steady growth in cricket and now intense coaching routine is behind his hard work. Her father, a daily wage laborer in agricultural fields, runs the household, taking care of her and her two younger siblings, while her mother left for Kuwait seven months earlier, mainly to support her daughter’s training. to work as a domestic worker. Until recently, Kalaiyarasi did not have a good pair of shoes and even now, he rarely eats three meals a day. “I leave for coaching early in the morning and till then it is difficult for my father to cook. So I come back and have dinner around 4 pm,” says the young cricketer. “No problem, he fully supports me. Sometimes neighbors in my village commented on me wearing shorts and trousers all the time. But my father never told me what kind of clothes girls should wear or do. Whenever he has money, he buys me a pair of trousers.” Her father’s support is especially valuable when schools and the wider community consider it unnecessary to take girls to sports.
According to Mr. Priyadarshan, in Sri Lanka’s post-war years, some diversity has begun to appear in the national sport, citing for example Jaffna-born cricketer Vijayakanth Vyasakanta, now a well-known name in the Lanka Premier League. Happened. Despite good talent and committed coaches, the game infrastructure in the north of Sri Lanka is quite inadequate, as players from the region have often noted. “Even in Kalaiyarsee’s school, we had to build the cricket pitch ourselves, by laying gravel and leveling it. If sports infrastructure in the north is generally inadequate, facilities for girls are even worse,” says Mr. Priyadarshan, although there is hope that Ms. Kalaiyarsi’s achievement will inspire more schools to take sports seriously.
As far as Ms. Kalaiyarsi is concerned, since cricket is a serious business, she turns to Tamil cinema for entertainment. A staunch fan of actor Vijay, says he has seen his film bigiloIn which she has played the role of women’s football coach 52 times. “My friends don’t dare criticize him in front of me, they know I’ll give them a blow,” she laughs.