Of faith and patience to hope and joy: The journey of Asha

"THERE is a story of Job in the Bible.

-  KALYANI MANGALE

He was a true believer of God," Asha Sobhana says over a zoom call. "Satan would come and ask Job if he could give up on God. (If he did so) Satan would give everything back- his richness, health, everything. However, Job stuck by God and he continued to praise God during his difficult times. Eventually, his life was backed by God. So he stuck with the belief in God and the reward was there. I think we need to wait for that moment to come, no matter what darkness we go through.

That's what I have learned." India's latest debutant in the ODIS, cap no. 143, relates the most with the aforementioned verse and the story of Job from the bible. For it has been her living and breathing experience. The 33-year-old, who was probably nowhere near plans for international cricket two years ago, to have a debut in both white-ball formats within two months is a story of patience backed by her unwavering faith. On Sunday, it all came together as Asha took 4/21 and helped India beat South Africa by 143 runs in Bengaluru.