Hyderabad: A 21-year-old Telangana woman is changing her perception about coaching by becoming a professional cricket coach at such a tender age. Burra Lasya hailing from Bhupalapalli Jayashankar district aims to be special no matter what she does. Usually, it is after retiring from the game, do players become a 'coach'!
But Lasya was selected as a coach by the International Cricket Council (ICC) at the age of 21. Lasya said sports are in her genes as her father Burra Ramesh is a university volleyball player and her mother Sunitha is a national athlete. They used to take her to wherever there were sports competitions with Lassya becoming passionate about sports over some time.
“No matter what you do, you want to be special. That's why I focused on cricket where girls are fewer. Since childhood, I used to play cricket with my younger brother and his friends. Once I watched the World Cup, I understood the popularity of this game. I want to choose this as a career after learning more,” she said. Lasya later trained at Daniel, Rampatil and VVS Laxman Cricket Academies to hone her skills.
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She also played as an all-rounder for the under-19 team at the state level. Regarding her interest in coaching, Lasya said her philosophy is that one should always strive to learn in life. “We should share that knowledge with other people. So, I used to help newcomers from the beginning. My coach saw my interest and taught me whenever he had time. Gradually it became a habit,” she said.
She said she came close to the profession during the Covid lockdown as she downloaded and read coaching books and information from the ICC website. “I heard that the ICC conducts the process of selecting coaches twice a year around the world. I was also interested, so I applied to give it a try,” she said, "She was selected as an ICC coach and received level-1 certificate and she became the first girl from Telangana to achieve the feat.
Lasya said besides her desire to excel as a good player she is also continuing her studies. “I have done my Bachelor's in Business Administration from KL University. Now doing a Master's in America. I practice from 5 to 8 in the morning. After finishing college in the evening, I used to go to the ground.
"I used to go to college carrying a kit bag. I brought my kit to America, too. I am making plans to practice daily. Since everything has become online after Corona, I want to continue coaching in the same way. I have to earn a place in our national team. My dreams are to train more girls and make them the best players and represent the Hyderabad Cricket Association,'' she said.
