Pakistan allrounder Nida Dar talks about her Lala love, Punjabi food, and her best moments in the game
Annesha Ghosh16-Nov-2018Let’s talk about that signature Shahid Afridi “starfish” celebration. How did it come about?
As a kid, I used to be in awe of Shahid Afridi. When my family and I would watch him on TV, I used to think, “I want to be an allrounder like Afridi”. By the time I started playing international cricket, my admiration for him began to show in my own celebration as well. That “starfish” thing began at the 2010 Asian Games.Is that where the description “Lady – Lala Boom Boom”, in your Twitter bio also comes from?
A Pakistani journalist a few years ago described me in an interview as “Lady Lala” of Pakistan after I took a catch in a game against Bangladesh. My team-mates call me Dar or Daru, but when I am bowling or batting really well, they say, “). Their style of batting and captaincy is quite similar – calm and focused – and they emphasise more on the process than the result.Tell us something about Sana Mir we might not know yet.
She is quite jolly in the dressing room, jokes around with the youngsters, and is always willing to help others both on the field and off the field.What has working with a New Zealander in coach Mark Coles been like?
He’s very cool. He keeps us together as a team, inspires us to help one another, and no matter what the result, what the state of a training session, he makes us focus on the positive side of things.There were a few young players in the Indian side you played against in Georgetown. Whom where you most impressed with?Jemimah [Rodrigues] is a [great] find for India. Very good batsman. I rate Deepti Sharma very highly – a great allrounder, she is.What was the best phase of play in the maiden T20I half-century you scored in that match?
When Bismah and I were building the partnership, we kept swapping roles every now and then. When she was going for boundaries, I was pinching singles and vice-versa.Which of the World T20 campaigns has been the most memorable for you?
The one in which we defeated India for the first time [in 2012]. We won by one run, and I took three wickets in that game.What’s the best thing about playing cricket?
Your lifestyle changes completely. If I can describe it in Punjabi, I would say cricket [Cricket turns you into a human being]. It instils discipline in you.If we gave you six balls to bowl at one stump, how many times would you hit?
life mein [You should always be optimistic in life], so I will say six times, but realistically, maybe only three.
