Radha Yadav claimed three wickets on her return to the Indian side against Bangladesh on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Radha Yadav has a new favourite. It is her teammate, N. Shree Charani.

She is all praise for the fellow practitioner of left-arm spin, who is the new World No. T20I bowler and leading wicket-taker at the World Cup.

“I have learnt so much from her,” said Radha, who took three wickets to help India score a must-win against Bangladesh at Old Trafford here on Thursday. “I see her in the nets, she does everything quietly and nails it in each session.”

Radha said people did not realise the hard work Shree Charani puts in. “I have seen her keep doing the same thing and have learnt it from her,” she said. “She keeps it simple, and doesn’t care about anything.”

The Bangladesh match was Radha’s first at this World Cup. She had come in as a substitute for the game against South Africa here, but had a tough outing in which she dropped match-winner Marizanne Kapp twice.

She dropped another early in the match against Bangladesh, too. Mind you, she is one of the best fielders in the world.

She admitted it was a bad day for her. “I don’t have to say much about my fielding,” she said. “I have done well in the past, so I have nothing to worry about.”

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She wasn’t the only Indian who struggled with fielding, though, and assured the team was working hard on it.

“Fielding is something we do with great enthusiasm,” she said. “You might have seen how our fielding sessions go. You would see we don’t drop a single catch in it. Fielding is something we have worked on for two or three years. It is not really an excuse but it was a bit difficult because of the sun.”

She said after the defeat to South Africa, the team had a huddle and everyone motivated each other. “So we just asked each other to keep smiling,” Radha said. “We all are doing our work and one can’t do more than that. There is only one thing you can do: help each other, keep each other’s spirits up, keep each other calm.”

They need that more than ever. Their next must win is against the mighty Aussies at Lord’s on Sunday.

Published on Jun 26, 2026