'When the rescue boats came, the first thing I took was my cricket kit'

Sajana S was one of 39 players aiming to do their best at the three-team T20 Challenger Trophy and impress the selectors before they picked the Indian team for the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 in the Caribbean in November.

But the 23-year-old all-rounder, who aims to play like Harmanpreet Kaur and is a fan of Mithali Raj and Sachin Tendulkar, couldn’t focus on her game. In the dining hall, where the players were gathered one evening, the TV was blaring news of the floods in Kerala. Sajana was quiet. She hadn’t told anyone there, but the disaster was all too real for her: her family was one of the thousands affected.

A few days before, Sajana had woken up at midnight, to find the power out and the ground floor of her house under water. "When the boats came to rescue my family, the first thing I took was my cricket bat and kit!" she told ICC. Even in the middle of everything, "only cricket" was on her mind.

Devastating floods in the south Indian states of Kerala and parts of Karnataka have displaced around 1.3 million people, with homes washed away or rendered uninhabitable. An estimated 400 people have died, and public infrastructure worth billions has been destroyed.

Wayanad, where Sajana, the under-23 captain of the state team, lives with her brother and parents – her father is a rickshaw driver, her mother is with the local government – was one of the most affected. The family, like so many others, faces the task of rebuilding their lives and home.

Sajana’s teammate Minnu Mani, a gun fielder and captain of the under-19 team, also hails from Wayanad. Her house, where she lived with parents, sister and grandmother, was ruined by water and landslides. The paddy fields that were the source of their livelihood are ruined. "We're trying to make a new home, but it's too muddy," she said, adding that they’re waiting for the waters to recede before they can begin the repair work.

The girls' teammates, coaches and the extended community have come together to do what they can to help them, and their larger communities, get back onto their feet. "They have been very supportive," said Mani.

Big names including Raj, Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have sent out appeals, and the Indian team dedicated their win in the third Test against England at Trent Bridge to those affected by the floods. The local Kerala Cricket Association has led the efforts at raising funds, with several cricketers pitching in.

For now, the young players are keen to put the incident behind them and keep at their dream of representing India. The new domestic season will take off soon and preparatory camps are on the horizon; come rain or shine, they're not going to let anything get in the way.

– By Karunya Keshav