Student helps Scotland Women’s U19 cricket squad prepare for World Cup glory

Glasgow Caledonian University sport psychology student Sanika Divekar is in South Africa supporting the Scotland Women’s U19 cricket squad to achieve their World Cup goals.

Originally from India, Sanika comes from a family of professional cricketers and is passionate about the sport, so joining the team at the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Johannesburg is a dream come true.

She is currently mentally preparing the Cricket Scotland squad for the international tournament and helping them deal with the pressures of being the first Scottish female cricket team to ever participate in a World Cup.

The Scotland squad have their first Group D match against UAE tomorrow (January 14) at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. They then play South Africa on January 16 and finish off the group stages against India on January 18.

Sixteen teams are taking part in the World Cup. The top three teams from each group will then progress to the Super Six round. If Scotland qualify, they will move to Group 1 which will comprise of three teams, each from Groups A and D.

Sanika said: “I am very excited to be part of the Scotland Women’s Under 19 squad support team during their first World Cup as it has been a dream of mine for many years.

“I come from a family of professional cricketers. That’s where the influence has come from and a lot of dinner conversations have been about cricket for as long as I can remember.

“I didn’t play cricket but I was a national-level table tennis player for about 12 years. That was my introduction to competitive sport.”

Sanika is currently in her third and final year of her Sport and Exercise Psychology Professional Doctorate at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). She secured a placement with Cricket Scotland in 2020, working with the Scotland Women’s U19 squad so she knows the women well.

She said: “You have to remember these girls are really young and for most of them it’s the first time they are going to be participating at an international level so it can be quite daunting.

“In competitive, elite-level sport mental strength becomes even more important. My role is not limited to performance enhancement and consistency but also from a general overall athlete wellbeing perspective. Having worked with the squad for a considerable amount of time, a lot of relationship building has happened with the girls.

“Coming from India, I was born and brought up with cricket so it’s in my blood and it is a sport that I am passionate about and genuinely enjoy watching. It is a very comfortable environment for me and having the contextual information and intelligence about the sport, its dynamics and what it demands really helps.

“My primary role at the World Cup is to offer off-the-pitch one-to-one sport psychology support for the girls and also conduct group workshops to ensure that they are prepared for the challenge they are about to embark upon.”

Dr Bryan McCann, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and placement coordinator for the Sport and Exercise Psychology Doctorate Postgraduate degree at Glasgow Caledonian, said: “We have a very strong partnership with Cricket Scotland which has seen trainees support a number of the national squads.

“It is clear that Cricket Scotland value the role that sport and exercise psychologists can play within a multidisciplinary team, as Sanika’s inclusion as a key member of the Cricket Scotland team supporting the U19s T20 World Cup squad shows.

“Sanika is the latest of our trainees to get the chance to travel internationally as part of their placement, and we are delighted that she will gain this invaluable experience to apply her skills and knowledge at an international level.  We are incredibly proud of Sanika and our other trainees for the outstanding support they provide clients and organisations as part of their placements.”