For all those young boys and girls, who failed to make a career in sports, here’s a message from a successful team manager of Cricket Australia. Urmila Rosario, 34, who was the team manager for the Australian men’s cricket team, has become a cynosure in the sporting world following the team’s historic win in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Rosario told TOI: “Sometimes we are so focused on one thing, we don’t even look at what might be available outside it. My message to youngsters is if you don’t make it as an athlete, there are so many opportunities available within sports. It has different facets now like broadcasting, media, etc. We don’t necessarily need to be athletes to get that rush of adrenaline. We can still contribute and be a part of the process.” A case in point is Rosario herself. She had to drop her dream of becoming a professional tennis player due to injuries. “The big takeaway for me, through all of this, is how amazing the opportunities are if you search out for them. Obviously, I started with tennis and was so grounded that there were no other opportunities available. But it wasn’t so,” she recounted.

Going back to the momentous occasion a few days back, Rosario said holding the trophy was an awesome experience. “Not every day you get to hold the cricket world cup. In a country like India, in front of 1,25,000 people, it was a pretty amazing experience. I’ve been lucky to be a part of the very successful cricket team, working at the back-end. It’s really a good moment,” she exulted. Regarding initial setbacks for the team, she admitted it was disappointing, but the team focused on the long game. “We obviously knew we had the squad, had a list of incredible players. Obviously, results did not go our way in the first two matches. We put our best foot forward analyzing and learning from the mistakes,” she said.

The first glimpse of the team getting into the semis was when they played England in Ahmedabad. “It was a crunch match, and we had to make sure we won. I think that may be the first one of it. We had to focus quickly and make sure we got the results we wanted. Luckily, it worked in our favor, especially in the back-end.” Speaking about her role as the team manager, she said: “I look after off-field movements. Lot of it involves logistics. It is something of a bottleneck role since a lot of people keep coming to me with requests and questions. I ensure that they get what they need – from the right training facilities and nutrition, to comfort and space,” she pointed out.