TRINIDAD and Tobago Women’s Under-19 captain Shalini Samaroo has aspirations of reaching the highest level and that goal has kept her going through two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and she is now one level away from a call-up to the team old West Indies.
Samaroo is one of four T&T players selected for the West Indies U-19 Women’s squad for next month’s ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup and she has earned the trust of local T&T Cricket Board coach Kelvin Williams as and of Cricket West Indies chief selector for women’s cricket, Ann Browne-John.
Other players earning a call-up are Djenaba Joseph, who is the sister of former U-19 World Cup player Mbeki Joseph, as well as goalkeeper Shunell Sawh and midfielder KD Jazz Mitchell.
Reacting to the news of her call-up to the inaugural tour, Samaroo described it as “one of my greatest achievements”.
“It is an opportunity that is not given to many athletes and I am very grateful for it. It’s a dream come true not only for me but also for my grandfather who is not here in the physical plane (can still tear),” Samaroo continued.
“He was my mentor, role model and encourager. “What makes this even more special for my family and I is that we know he’s looking down and smiling because this is the journey he wanted me to be on,” she added.
Driven by her purpose
Asked about her drive to continue training and up her game during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, which sidelined almost all athletes, Samaroo said she wants to reach the top and that goal has keep it going.
“During the pandemic, it was a bit challenging to train, but despite that I continued to read and watch past games, continuing with the mental part of the game,” she explained.
“On some days I would do strength training and also skill work just to keep in shape. My goal is to develop my game at the highest level and also to be consistent in everything I do. Keeping that in the back of my head motivates me to keep working hard,” she concluded.
