Things have been happening at breakneck speed for Niki Prasad.

In December 2024, she was appointed as India U-19 captain for the Asia Cup, and in the ensuing 19-and-a-bit months, she has won the Asia Cup and U-19 T20 World Cup, played in two WPL finals, returned an impressive domestic season, and become the most expensive player in her domestic state league.

The latest stop on her journey was England, where she was with the India A set-up for a white-ball tour in parallel to the senior team’s excursion across the English summer. The experience is one she has taken away plenty from.

“To be able to play in England, get adapted to those conditions, to the wicket and the bowlers, it was a really good experience overall,” she told Sportstar. “There were quite a lot of learnings, especially when I was going to bat.

“They had tall bowlers, and all they were doing was hitting the deck, short of good length. So, I had to really prepare to play the pull and cut shots. Even when I was bowling, I think the batters just kept playing square a lot, so I had to quickly adapt to that and try a lot of stock balls.

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“Even when we were fielding, we had to keep chasing the ball because it was a bigger outfield. So, it was a really good experience playing under those conditions and also being able to win,” she said.

Being in England over the summer also gave her a closer seat at both India’s T20 World Cup campaign and its historic Test win at Lord’s. As a young player who boasts ambitions of wearing the white India jersey in the future, Niki took particular inspiration from the senior side’s ability to transition from the shortest format to the longest.

“Seeing how our Indian women’s team transitioned from T20 to Tests in the span of 10 days and went over there and handled the situation so well: Kranti [Gaud] picked five, and Yastika [Bhatia] got a 100. Watching them achieve that landmark on that big stage was really inspiring,” she said of her experience of the occasion.

WPL: Round 2

Her call-up to the A side is yet another reminder of her rapidly rising stock in the game. The 20-year-old made her WPL debut for Delhi Capitals shortly after leading the U-19 side to the T20 World Cup title in January 2025, and ahead of the mega-auction before the 2026 season, DC reiterated its faith in her by retaining her for Rs. 50 lakh. She is also now a JSW-supported athlete.

“It didn’t feel like pressure. Of course, there were expectations because I was retained, but I was honestly really happy to be playing WPL and being part of DC,” she said of her retention. “I think that overall, I was able to express that on the field. Other players are also backing you up, other international and Indian cricketers, which gives you a lot of confidence at that level.”

Opportunities with the bat proved scarce across the season, but she provided a statement of her quality with a blistering 24-ball 47 to pull off a near-miracle chasing 174 from 100 for six against Gujarat Giants.

Niki noted that the season had helped her grow as a player and a person, saying, “This WPL season has made me evolve, not just as a cricketer, but also in my personal life. I am being even more disciplined, writing down everything that I have to be doing, and really focussing on the smaller tactical aspects because at the highest level, you need to have a lot of plans and really back those plans.”

The paucity of batting opportunities can be attributed to DC’s opulence of high-quality top-order batters, including skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt, and veteran wicketkeeper-batter Lizelle Lee. Having been given clarity about her role coming into the season, Niki — who generally bats in the top-order for Karnataka, domestically — spent time preparing for her new middle-order role before the tournament.

“Back home, when I was training, I was doing a lot of power hitting and was learning to adapt quickly to the situation. For example, if you’re walking in earlier, or if you’re walking in at a situation where you need to score a lot of runs, how to take the game on or immediately change gears,” she explained. “Coming forward from last season, I think I had that transition, and I knew I had to go straight away for boundaries or keep rotating.”

She was able to apply the learnings from that middle-order role into the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy immediately after, where she scored 258 runs at an average of 51.60 and an impressive strike-rate of 124.03 for Karnataka.

“I think batting in that middle order in WPL has made my game go to another level, because you need a lot of flexibility playing in that role,” she reflected. “That kind of flexibility and learning has improved my batting even more. Now in the domestic circuit for the Karnataka team, when I bat in the top-order, I know how to straight away walk in and start rotating and get those boundaries.”

Following the process

Her rapid ascent has brought with it a swift increase in attention and expectation. “There has been a lot of expectation and also a little more added pressure, especially coming after that World Cup and playing WPL. Then again, next season when you’re retained, there’s a lot of expectation and also a little bit of pressure not just from the team, but also your surroundings, other players or maybe family,” she admitted.

Her method for staying insulated from that pressure is by focussing on the process. “I’m very disciplined about certain things, and I do my routines and everything. Because of that, when I’m on the field, I’m able to execute better, not take all the pressure on myself, and just focus on the process,” she said.

“I don’t look at the result. I look at what I can do to achieve that result.”

One of the things Niki has integrated into her processes is utilising data, a habit that was first developed playing domestic cricket. “I think it started when I played my first year of senior cricket for Karnataka. We have the video analysis, and one coach told me to watch the videos, see what they’re doing, and just write it down.

“From that tournament onwards, I could see the difference because when you have certain data and when you have a little bit of knowledge about your opponents or just about yourself — you know where you’re standing and you know what you have to be doing. So in the games, you are not confused,” she explained.

“You have a plan because you know what they’re doing or what you are doing, so you have certain plans for yourself and what you can do in that particular situation.”

Being a leader

Niki first shot into prominence as India’s captain at the U-19 T20 World Cup in 2025, and has experience leading Karnataka at multiple levels as well. As a leader, she places weight in staying calm. “The captain has to be cool and calm in any situation. Even if you’re winning, even if you’re losing, you need to stay calm. You need to make sure that your teammates are also calm inside the field or even in the dressing room. That’s one thing I’ve always done from junior cricket to senior cricket.”

She looks to her former Karnataka captain Veda Krishnamurthy as an inspiration. “She’s really sharp on the field and she knows exactly what the batter is up to. So, she immediately used to keep the fielders at the right places,” she remembered. “Looking at her, I think I did learn a lot about standing at the right hotspot positions, and about motivating others to give their best.”

She also praised her DC captain Jemimah Rodrigues for her leadership at the helm of a major franchise for the first time. “It was her first time being the captain of such a big franchise team, but watching her motivate us, motivate me, in whatever small aspect was really inspiring,” she said. “There’s a lot to learn from her as well, like how she’s always energetic, no matter what the situation is, even if it’s the last ball or the first ball she still has the same energy.”

Degree in the back pocket

Off the cricket field, Niki has chosen a path not especially common to cricketers, opting to continue her studies by pursuing a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in Sports Management.

“I’ve always been really good at studies, and after doing my 12th, I was a little bit confused about what to take. So, initially, I thought I should do B.Com and finish it off. After some time, I thought maybe B.Com with ACCA because I love accounts and finance,” she explained.

“Later, when I did some research, I came across this course where I was able to study business and accounts, and at the same time do sports management, where they cover every aspect of sports, including psychology, physiotherapy, nutrition, wellness, sociology, tourism. So, it covered every aspect of sports and I actually found that really interesting.”

She did, however, confess to not being the most regular student these days. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to go and study. I just have to sit and write exams. Maybe in the next couple of years when I finish the degree, there’ll be some learning but right now, it’s so difficult to go to college,” she said with a slightly rueful smile.

Tactics and power-hitting: the way forward

Next pencilled into the itinerary for Niki is the inaugural edition of the Maharani Trophy, Karnataka’s state T20 league, where she will be representing Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters, having been the most expensive buy at the auction. She is optimistic that the tournament can have a transformative effect for the State.

“It is going to have a huge impact on the Karnataka women’s team because we’ve been doing really well and we’ve won a couple of junior trophies, and are also aiming to win the senior team trophy, too.

“I think with Maharani coming into the picture, it’s going to give exposure to other young cricketers to be competing with a lot of senior cricketers. They’ll also have a lot of confidence getting to play in Chinnaswamy Stadium, when they’re getting to play under floodlights. When they come into the senior team it won’t be new for them,” she explained.

“It’s even a good platform because there are WPL scouts watching us. Because it’ll be telecasted, everyone will be watching us. So, I think performing over there and winning matches for your team at this level is going to be really good for us.”

Beyond that, she has been selected for a targeted camp, and has her eye on series against Australia A and England A to come. From a personal perspective, she is clear about the areas of her game she is looking to improve on.

“I think over the last couple of years, I’ve been doing a lot of power hitting, and also being very tactical about things. That is something I’ve been including in every match and especially even in WPL, I was able to perform like that. After that also, when we had our seniors and multi-days, I was able to achieve those things” she said.

“I think this season, I’ll be focussing on being more tactical and having those plans. It’s about going out there and not just performing, but winning the game for the team because that’s when your performance is going to be seen. So, to be able to win is something that I’m really looking forward to.”

Published on Jul 21, 2026