Radha Yadav Height, Age, Boyfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Radha Yadav

• Radha Yadav is an Indian cricketer (bowler). A right-hand batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Radha is the first female cricketer from the Gujarat cricket team to find a place in the Indian women’s cricket team.

• Radha was born prematurely in the seventh month.

• She grew up in a lower-middle-class family in Mumbai.

• Yadav was not so good at academics, however, she excelled at sports since childhood. She grew up playing several games including cricket, badminton, kabaddi, and kho kho.

• Once, while Radha was playing gully cricket with her friends in her society’s compound, Praful naik, a cricket coach, spotted her. Impressed with her exceptional bowling and fielding skills at such a young age, Naik offered Radha to train under him. Yadav was 12 years old at that time. While talking about the incident in an interview, Radha said,
  

  He spoke to my dad to seek his permission and my dad agreed. Praful Sir started training me in Mumbai.”

• Thereafter, she began learning the nuances of cricket from Praful at the Shiv Seva ground in Borivli. Talking about her initial training days in an interview, Yadav said,
  

  Back then, we had only 3-4 girls attending the practice sessions. Initially, I would use other players’ kit. I got my own only when my coach was convinced that I could play hard-ball cricket.”

• In 2013, Radha’s coach urged her to shift to Our Lady of Remedy High School, Kandivali West, Mumbai, as her previous school did not offer an adequate sports environment.

• After admitting to Our Lady of Remedy, Radha began playing cricket for her school’s cricket team. She gave an applauding performance at the DSO, a school-level cricket tournament.

• A turning point came in her life when her coach Praful Naik decided to shift to Vadodara with his family. At that time Radha too decided to shift to Vadodara and sought for her father’s permission to do so. After her father approved of it, she moved to the city. She was just 15 years old during that time.
  

  Radha Yadav during her practice session

• In Vadodara, she studied at Vidya Kunj School and also played for the school’s cricket team.

• Initially, she made a place for herself in the Indian women’s Under-19 cricket team, but, she could not play any Under-19 match as she was down with dengue fever for a long time. After she recovered from her ailments, she had crossed the age limit. She then found a place for herself in the Mumbai seniors team.

• Playing for Mumbai, Radha made her domestic cricket debut on 10 January 2015. She played her debut match against Kerala. She played for the Mumbai women’s team for around a year.

• Subsequently, she represented Baroda women’s cricket team in domestic tournaments. Taking nine wickets and scoring unbeaten 32 runs in six T20 matches for Baroda during a tournament, Radha secured a place for herself in the Indian women’s squad for the T20 international series against South Africa in 2018. Sharing her emotions about the same in an interview, Radha said,
  

  I always hoped to achieve something in cricket. I always backed myself. My only wish was to wear the India jersey and sing the national anthem. So, when all this was happening, I couldn’t control my tears.”

  

  Radha Yadav with her team Baroda

• Yadav, along with her teammates, won the Vadodara International Marathon Relay (10 km) in 2016.
  

  Radha Yadav after winning the Vadodara International Marathon Relay

• On 13 February 2018, she played her first international Twenty20 match against the South African Women’s team; In the match, Yadav finished with the figures 0-21.

• In the same year, she was named in the Indian squad for ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies; Radha took the most number of wickets for India along with Poonam Yadav; both took 8 wickets each.

• In 2019, she represented the IPL Supernovas team in the Women’s T20 Challenge; her team won the tournament.
  

  Radha Yadav with her IPL team after winning the Women’s T20 Challenge 2019

• On 9 November 2020, Radha played for IPL Supernovas in the Women’s T20 Challenge; playing against Trailblazers in the finals, Radha took 5 wickets and became the first T20 player in the Women’s T20 Challenge to do so.
  

  Radha Yadav representing Supernovas in the Women’s T20 Challenge 2020

• Radha also plays for Sydney Sixers, a domestic Australian team that competes in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). She has represented Sydney Sixers in various WBBL matches in 2021 and 2022.
  

  Radha Yadav playing for Sydney Sixers against Melbourne Renegades in a WBBL match at Lilac Hill Park in Perth

• She played for IPL Velocity in the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2022.
  

  Radha Yadav as a part of the IPL Velocity team

• In January 2020, Radha became part of the Indian women’s team that played in the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
  

  Radha yadav celebrating a wicket (taken by her)

• Her Women’s One Day International (WODI) debut came in 2021, on 14 March, playing for India against South Africa.
  

  Radha Yadav hitting her delivery stride in a match

• In May 2021, Radha secured a place in the Indian Test squad for their one-off match against the England women’s cricket team.

• Yadav has played several List ‘A’ matches for team India.
  

  Radha Yadav during a cricket match

• In her spare time, she likes to watch films, dance, and travel.

• A bike enthusiast, Radha loves riding sports bikes.
  

  Radha Yadav riding a bike

• She is fond of chocolates and ice-creams, however, she refrains from them to keep herself fit.

• Her parents have always been supportive of her cricket career. However, he was concerned about providing for her coaching fee and equipment charges initially as his shop did not guarantee a fixed income. During an interview, while talking about it Omprakash Yadav said,
  

  I never had a problem with Radha playing cricket, but my worry was meeting expenses. When Sir (Naik) said that he would look after all the expenses, I did not think twice.”

• In a media conversation, Yadav revealed that her father tried his best to keep her away from the financial worries that her family was facing, however, she could not stay immune to it. Talking about the hardships that her father had to go through every day in an interview, she said,
  

  I check with my father every day whether he faced any problem from the BMC. His response is always positive. He ensures my cricket stays unaffected by all these problems, but I know he is under a lot of stress. He wakes up at 4 am to stock the shop and every night he takes the items back home.

  

  Radha Yadav’s father at his makeshift shop on a footpath in Kandivli West, Mumbai

• In an interview, Radha revealed that the first time she watched cricket on TV was in 2011; she watched the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Not coy about her ignorance of the game, she also shared that she didn’t know that women also played at the international level until she herself started playing domestic cricket. Yadav revealed that she came to know about popular Indian female cricket players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami after she started playing the game. In the same interview, she went on to share that she initially thought that she would play with boys, but later realised that it was not possible.

• A fitness enthusiast, Radha follows a strict workout regimen to maintain her fitness.
  

  Radha Yadav inside the gym

• Radha owns a Honda City car.
  

  Radha Yadav posing with her car

• She is managed by the strategic sports marketing and talent management company Baseline Ventures.

• In an interview, while talking about her initial cricketing days, Radha said,
  

  I have played and enjoyed tennis cricket a lot. Tennis cricket has helped me in my fielding. Initially started with fast bowling, but sir told me to try spin bowling. I enjoyed batting more than bowling and I still do.”

• In an interview, she was asked how her family reacted to her selection in the Indian women’s cricket team. She replied,
  

  It was surreal. My dad was shedding tears of joy and my mother was hugging me out of happiness. You cannot explain that feeling in words. I was 12 when I started season-ball cricket, playing India in just 5 years is nothing less than a dream.”

• In an interview, sharing the most memorable moment of her cricketing career, Radha said,
  

  My debut for India A against Bangladesh Women’s team last year was very special where I bowled 4 overs, gave just 4 runs and took 2 wickets.”

• Yadav is good friends with the Indian all-rounder Jemimah Rodrigues. In an interview, while talking about her old association with Jemimah, Radha said,
  

  I remember playing against Jemimah a lot of times during school days. We were opponents back then, but now are very good friends. She used to play for St. Joseph and I was playing for Our Lady of Remedy High School, Borivali.”

• Apparently, Yadav resides with her family of nine people (including, her parents, elder brother with his wife and children, another brother, and a sister) in a 225 sq ft house in a slum society in Kandivli. Her house is located a stone’s throw away from MCA Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana.

• Radha credits her success to her coach Praful Naik.

• During an interview, Radha’s coach, Praful Naik, while talking about her said that she had a very positive approach toward everything. He said,
  

  What puts Radha apart from others is her courage and positive approach toward everything. She gives 100% on the field. I spotted her extraordinary fielding skills first apart from her bowling.”

• Radha once revealed that her elder sister played cricket better than her. However, she could not make a career out of it because of domestic problems.

• In February 2023, she was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 40 lakh in the inaugural WPL auction.