Saika Ishaque wanted to quit cricket when nothing was happening - Former India cricketer Mithu Mukherjee

Former Indian cricketer Mithu Mukherjee has said that uncapped Indian player Saika Ishaque contemplated quitting cricket in 2020.

Ishaque was impressive in her early days of playing in the game and was termed prodigious until a shoulder injury in 2018 served as a setback to her career. She was out of the Bengal women's team for close to three years and the doubts started creeping into her head once the Covid-19 pandemic was enforced.

While getting a game for the left-arm spinner was difficult at that point, Ishaque, who was the sole breadwinner of her family, wanted to put an end to playing cricket.

In October 2020, the Bengal spin bowler conveyed the same message to Mithu Mukherjee, who played four Test matches for India and was the senior national selector from the east zone at the time.

"Ma’am I am planning to quit cricket as there's nothing happening to me," Mukherjee told The Indian Express.

"For the first few minutes, it was one way," Mukherjee added. "She vented out all her frustration. She was right also, for three years, she was not in the team, and her confidence level was low. After a while, I asked her, ‘do you know anything apart from cricket? There was a pin-drop silence."

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How Saika Ishaque staged comeback in Bengal's team

Saika Ishaque hails from the Park Circus slum, a neighbourhood in south Kolkata. Cricket made a big difference to her family's struggles. The exclusion from the Bengal team in domestic cricket didn't help her cause as it shrunk her intrinsic motivation.

Mithu Mukherjee connected Ishaque with former India U19 coach and Bengal cricketer Shibsagar Singh in a bid to get the player back into the groove.

"I got a call from Mithu di about a girl, who had played for Bengal, is the sole bread earner of her family, and now wants to quit cricket. She requested me to help Saika,” Shibsagar told The Indian Express.

It was that moment that became a metamorphosis in Ishaque's bowling as she started showing enough progress under her new coach. She soon regained her spot in the Bengal team.

"To understand her bowling better, I started batting against her. I noticed that she would only bowl on the good length. She will not leave that tappa. I explained to her that in 50-over cricket, this length is good, but in T20, the length needs to be pulled back a bit," Shibsagar added.

Ishaque was picked by Mumbai Indians for her base price of INR 10 lakhs in the inaugural Women's Premier League auction in February.

With 15 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 7.01, the left-arm spinner is the second-most wicket-taker in the WPL 2023, with only one wicket behind UP Warriorz's Sophie Ecclestone.

Ishaque will have her opportunity to go past Ecclestone's tally on Sunday (March 26) evening when Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Capitals in the WPL 2023 final at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.