'Cricket is just a part of life' - how dancing and long drives unshackled Radha

There are the star batters. And then there are the spinners. The main sources of strength, and hope, for India at the T20 World Cup in the UAE next month. At the forefront of that spin attack are Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav , the senior pros, and the second of those, Radha, is talking up the spinners' preparedness for the task at hand: "Whatever the pitch, the conditions and the pressure of big matches, we are ready."

With Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana , plus the part-timers, for company, Radha, with her left-arm spin bowled with a high action, and offspinner Deepti form a formidable spin attack.

"Look, whatever the team combination, all of us spinners are ready. Our preparations are going on," Radha told ESPNcricinfo at a QUA brand shoot in Delhi earlier this month. "We [the spinners] always talk about what kind of pitch we are playing on and how to bowl on that pitch, how much turn we should try to get, which variations to bowl... There is a good bonding among the four of us, even though this spin quartet is new."

Not long ago, Radha had found herself out of the India T20I team. She wasn't in the mix after the T20 World Cup in South Africa, in February 2023, and only returned to the lineup after WPL 2024 for the tour of Bangladesh in April 2024.

Speaking in May, Radha had attributed her success at the WPL - ten wickets at an economy of 7.48 - to being calmer and less aggressive than before: "Because of the aggression, I used to lose my rhythm at times. So now, I try to be calm with a smiling face." Since her comeback, she has picked 22 wickets in 13 matches and has conceded runs at only 6.27. The change has worked, clearly.

"I am not trying to make a place for myself in the India team, if I have the skill and the ability to make the team win, then only I want to play," she said. "Otherwise, I don't think I have to be a permanent member of the team. The only thing that goes on in my mind is how much I should improve myself so that I can make my team win in any situation."

Not trying to win every battle and every moment of a game have helped too.

"If you have gone through a bad time, then to come back after that, your mindset should be very good, so that you can accept everything and express yourself," Radha said. " Amol [Muzumdar , the head coach] sir has told me a lot about controlled aggression, and I have learned controlled aggression from him.

"Earlier I used to think only about cricket. But my friends explained to me that sometimes one has to go out, one has to enjoy life. Cricket is just a part of life, not the whole life. Now when I am not playing cricket, I don't think about cricket too much. I live with my parents. I go to cafes with friends. My hobbies are playing FIFA, dancing, going on long drives; I have started doing all this a lot more now."

But it isn't, and can't be, only about a mindset change. Sure, it has helped Radha visibly, but she has looked a better bowler, more penetrative, more impactful.

"I always see how much more I can improve, how much fitter I can get, how much I can sweat in the gym... all these things are in my hands," Radha said. "Of course, no one can say that 'okay, I have done all this, now I will also get the results'. That is not in my hand. After this, whatever results come, I accept that too.

"Yes, earlier it was a little difficult - 'I am working so hard and the result should also be good'. But that does not happen. Everyone is working hard, but the result will come only when it has to come. I think I have figured it out.

"Some skills keep changing because you cannot use the same skillset all the time. You have to evolve. But if you are successful in a skill, then you can continue. But your basics should be clear to you, only then you can evolve."

The turnaround began at the WPL this year. Radha has played for Sydney Sixers in the WBBL in the past, but her latest coming can be linked directly to the WPL where, incidentally, Patil and Sobhana were the top-two wicket-takers. The franchise circuit is certainly helping women's cricket.

"A lot of players come together in franchise cricket. Our domestic players also learn a lot from foreign players. We international players also learn a lot from them," Radha said. "The learning and teaching are not limited to cricket only; we learn a lot as human beings too. We see how a big player is playing, their approach, their mistakes, their failures. There is a lot to learn."

Now there is the T20 World Cup. In the UAE. There is a lot of hope going around, that this might be India's turn to get the global title they haven't so far. If India are to pull it off, spin will have to play a massive role. Hearing - and reading - Radha, and looking at her performances in the recent past, she does seem ready for it.