India’s women’s U-19 T20 World Cup winning captain Niki Prasad was in for a surprise as she arrived in the Delhi Capitals camp on Thursday, February 6 ahead of the Women’s Premier League 2025 season. Niki got a grand welcome as her teammates Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Varma and others joined in to welcome the World Cup winner to their mix.
Niki led from the front as India won the U-19 T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa in the final, and retained their crown in the process. The 19-year-old made her way to the DC camp on Thursday, as she was first draped in the India flag. Niki then had a garland put on her neck by Jemimah, before some of her other seniors would pose for selfies with the World Cup winner and even ask for her autograph.
Speaking about her grand welcome, Niki said that she was surprised by the welcome from her DC seniors. The U-19 World Cup winner said that the moment made her very happy.
“To be honest, I expected that there would be cameras, but I didn’t expect players to be there to welcome me. But obviously, it made me very happy, and I’m thankful to all the players for such a grand welcome.”
Niki’s mantra in World Cup final
Niki said that the team was calm and composed during the final and the team went out to the field to express themselves. The skipper said her message to the players was to go out and have fun.
“The important thing was that we were calm and composed during the finals. We just went out there and expressed ourselves. That’s why we looked a more dominating side. My message to the players was very simple, go out there, just have fun, enjoy and dominate,” she highlighted.
Niki also said that being part of a WPL team is a great opportunity for youngsters to learn and was grateful to DC for showing faith in her.
“Being a part of a WPL team is a great opportunity for youngsters to learn from other players. I’m very grateful to DC that they have shown faith in me. Coming into this franchise, I’m going to learn a lot and, more importantly, will try to contribute as much as I can and win it for the team,” she concluded.
DC will begin their WPL 2025 campaign against Mumbai Indians on February 15 in Vadodara.
