"It was a very tough time" - Devika Vaidya on her inspirational India comeback

All-rounder Devika Vaidya made her comeback to the Indian T20I team after eight long years during the T20I series against Australia last year. Although the Women in Blue lost the series 4-1, Vaidya showed glimpses of her all-round ability and made a strong claim for a place in the XI.

However, things were not as smooth-sailing for the all-rounder a few years ago. She endured the personal tragedy of losing her mother, which had a huge impact on her life. The all-rounder was also a little lost in her path and needed clarity about whether she really wanted to make it big as a cricketer.

Speaking to Star Sports, here's what Devika Vaidya had to say about the time she was dropped from the Indian team:

“Actually, I was playing pretty consistently till 2017, but after that, I got a couple of injuries and illnesses, which lowered my morale. It was a very tough time for me because my mother had passed away and I didn't have a clear goal.

“I needed clarity, so I worked really hard during the lockdown period to get it while also asking myself whether I wanted to play or not. I couldn't run away from the fact that yes, I want to play for India yet again.”

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Devika Vaidya on adapting to the new role

Devika Vaidya was initially a top-order batter. However, with the Indian team's first few batting spots already sorted, the all-rounder realized that she had to change her approach. She ultimately worked on becoming more valuable as a lower middle-order contributor.

On this, she stated:

“Actually, I always batted in the top four order for the Maharashtra cricket team, but after the last two seasons, I realized that if I want to make an international comeback, I need to change my mindset and practice accordingly.

“As a result, in the last two domestic seasons, I went lower down the order to bat and also adapted that very nicely, like going to bat in the 13th over and also accelerating the game simultaneously. I also worked on a couple of things with my bowling.”

Vaidya has now made India's squad for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa and will hope to put in some good performances.

Squad for T20 World Cup 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey.

Reserves: Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh.