‘She gave me a lot of freedom’ – Yastika Bhatia credits Mumbai Indians’ Head Coach Charlotte Edwards for her WPL success

Yastika Bhatia (Photo Source: Phil Walter-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Mumbai Indians’ wicketkeeper, Yastika Bhatia credited her Women’s Premier League (WPL) success to her side head coach, Charlotte Edwards. Yastika formed a powerful opening stand with West Indies all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, scoring 214 runs in 10 games. The 22-year-old made her India debut in 2021, she was part of the Indian team in the 2022 Common Wealth Games (CWG) final and has also a Test cricketer card on her bag.

The left-handed batter, Bhatia, had been a crucial part of the Mumbai Indians women under the able leadership of the MI and Indian skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur. Yastika’s success for the Mumbai-based side in WPL 2023 was largely due to the backing she got from team management. Interestingly, Bhatia revealed that it was during the WPL,, she had a brief conversation with Coach Edwards regarding her game and the mental aspect of it. Moreover, she believes that the moment she was assured that she will get to play all the games, it just eased her out and allowed her to come up with the best possible game for her team.

“She gave me a lot of freedom. She said ‘You just go out and play like a youngster would, without any pressure. There are a lot of good batters after you, so you need not just rotate strike. Just play your game and go for fours and sixes,” astika was quoted as saying by Mumbai Indians.

“She told me you would play all the games. It was a huge boost of confidence. You must have seen how that translated in the WPL,” the youngster concluded.

Yastika Bhatia wants to be India’s most preferred Keeper

The left-hander also discussed about her goals and the journey of her cricketing career so far. In the same vein, she expressed her desire to become the best keeper India women can have. Furthermore, the 22-year-old also said that she wants to be a match-winner just like her seniors players in the form of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana.

Notably, the Vadodara-based stumper-batter has played for India women in 19 ODIs and 15 T20Is, respectively. Now, she is looking forward to doing well in the upcoming India tour of Bangladesh.