Devika Vaidya: 'I hadn't seen many athletes come back to sport after maternity, but I was sure I could do it'

She looks possibly the fittest she ever has done - which is unremarkable for an athlete, but not quite in Vaidya's case: she has worked her way back from maternity leave. In June 2025, she gave birth to a baby boy, Dhruv, and is now coming back to play domestic cricket for Maharashtra, and possibly in the WPL. The sports centre we're meeting at holds a special place in this journey - it is where Vaidya took the first steps to her comeback.

About three years ago, she was in an enviable place. Recalled to the India side in December 2022, after nearly five years away, she went on to play the 2023 T20 World Cup, her first international appearance in about five years, then the inaugural WPL, and the Asian Games, where India won the gold medal. She was awarded a central contract that year, and was selected in the West Zone squad in March 2024 for the women's domestic red-ball competition, which was returning after six years.

Vaidya was to be married in April 2024, and her BCCI contract was scheduled to run out later that year, in September. Regardless, she decided to extend the break she would be taking for her wedding.

"For the last 15 to 18 years, I had played a lot of cricket, so it was getting a little monotonous for me," she says. "After marriage, I wasn't keen on getting back to playing immediately. I really needed that break. So I thought that now is the right time. It certainly was not a break for my body - [mothers] have to go through a lot. I've always wanted a family of my own. So that's when we made the decision. For the last two years, I've never repented [the break]. That is the best part.

"It's said that when you go through pregnancy, you get stronger. And that is what I wanted to experience. I think it is true, because whatever we go through in those two years, we become mentally very strong. That has helped me in my journey."

Vaidya did not have a return date in mind when she went on hiatus. In fact, she did not know if she would be coming back to cricket. Still, she believed that if she wanted to resume playing the game, she definitely would. "I hadn't seen many athletes who get married and then have a family come back [to sport]. But I was sure that I could do it; I had that confidence in myself."

Vaidya was picked by UP Warriorz for the inaugural WPL, in 2023•BCCI

Even if a comeback wasn't on her mind, cricket kept her company all through her time away. "I have never watched so much cricket since [India men] won the 2011 World Cup," she says. She didn't feel like she was missing out on playing, and instead made the most of being at home with her family. But she made sure to keep to her fitness routines.

"I was pretty active during my pregnancy. I was going to the gym. I was going for a walk for at least an hour every day. But I spoke only to my husband about cricket, because if I talked about it with the family, they would have had some hopes. And I did not want to give them false hope."

Three months after the baby was born, Vaidya was back in the gym, though she still did not have a return to cricket in mind.

"Though I was active during pregnancy, I realised that a lot of core strength was missing," she says. "I remember my first day back at the gym - I was really sad that I couldn't even do a single crunch. I couldn't do a single push-up or pull-up. That is when I panicked a little, because I have always loved gymming.

"Even a 400-metre run felt like a lot when I began running. [After] one round of the ground, I was done, I was finished. But I wanted to keep doing it because it was a good break for me as well, from the baby and routine at home. I found exercise was the best way to refresh my mind."

During her first few workout sessions, Vaidya found herself calling her grandmother to check on Dhruv often, though the gym was next door, and she was gone for hardly an hour at a time.

Slowly, she started getting used to her son not always being with her, and began to trust her family to take care of him. It helped that her grandmother and husband stepped up.

"My grandmother used to tell me, 'I have raised two daughters, I have taken care of you kids, too.' If you trust the person taking care of your baby, then it is easier on the mother, I feel," Vaidya says.

"I think my baby was the most co-operative," she adds with a laugh, "because he was quiet with other people. Probably he was like, 'Okay, go and train!' He has not been fussy. So, touch wood. If he hadn't co-operated, things could have been different."

A few months on, Vaidya found herself wanting to bat again, for the first time in about two years. Her fitness routine had got her back in shape, and a return to cricket was beginning to seem possible. She wasn't sure what level she wanted to play at, but she missed batting. So she returned to the nets, where her father gave her throwdowns.

"[My husband and father] said, don't think about playing competitively or anything, just have a bat. That is all I have done since I was a kid, and so I began. It was like rediscovering love - I missed batting and I realised I wanted to bat."

Unlike at her first gym session, she was prepared for her cricketing skills to be rusty and wasn't caught off guard.

"For the next couple of months I was struggling. Bowling after two years, that too legspin, is pretty difficult. When I first came on to bowl, I bowled a don tappi [two-bounce delivery] ball. But I was okay, fine, because I did not have a lot of expectations.

"But cover drive toh tar laaglach paahije. [I should be able to connect on a cover drive.] Surprisingly, batting was pretty easy. But bowling was hard, because the run-up, rhythm, I was doing it all after two years. Bowling took a lot of time. But I was not very frustrated with the cricket part. I did not panic about it.

"At that point I was not even thinking about fielding. I was not sure about getting the judgement right for catches, especially when playing in the sun after a long time. I remember I used to feel a little dizzy when someone tossed the ball up for a catch. But when I decided I wanted to play the upcoming season, I overcame it and worked on fielding."

On having to rebuild her bowling skills after two years: "When I first came on to bowl, I bowled two-bounce ball"•Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images

Through Vaidya's comeback journey, her close friend, batter Tejal Hasabnis, was a constant presence. The two, born three days apart, go back a long way, right from their age-group cricket days through to the senior Maharashtra team.

"Tejal used to come here with me every day for practice," Vaidya says. "She was like, it is okay if you don't pitch the ball right. Get the rhythm first, get your run-up right, and then we can work on the pitching.

"She has been there for me every day."

By then Hasabnis had made her India debut and was a regular in the India A side. Having her friend to practise alongside of gave Vaidya a benchmark to work towards as she found her way back to cricket.

"When I finally started bowling properly again and bowled to her at the nets, I used to ask her [questions like] will an Australian player reverse-sweep this ball? I used to ask her the trajectories I should be bowling, the lengths I should aim for. What areas she would dislike facing as a hard-hitting batter.

"And she used to ask me, 'Did I hit like [Sophie] Devine?' It is not to compare ourselves with others but to compete and mainly measure ourselves against the best.

"When I played my first [comeback] game, an invitation game for Maharashtra selection [before the 2026-27 season began], I scored 84 not out. I was happy because it was my first outing in two years. [Tejal] was happy that I stepped out on the first ball against a spinner and hit a boundary. It was that intent that made her happy, because that is what matters in cricket right now.

"When I used to play for India, she used to ask me for tips. Now it is the other way around. Either one of us, or both of us, should be there [in the Indian team], we always say."

Coming back after becoming a mother made Vaidya more driven in practice sessions. Her days are full with Dhruv's routine, her own schedule, practice and training. As a result, time is of essence, and she makes sure she uses every minute on the field doing something productive.

Vaidya was the player of the match in just her second ODI, against Sri Lanka in 2017, in which she scored 89•ICC

"I am very competitive on the field against opponents, but not so much with my team-mates," she says. "After my pregnancy, I have focused on myself. I have never really thought about what someone else is doing or what I should do to be better than someone else. I have been in my own zone, getting better each day, because I had a lot on my plate. I had to reach my original level of fitness and then get better than that.

"Now I cannot afford to waste time. I'm fielding and taking extra catches, bowling a few extra balls, batting a little more and talking to the coaches. I have never been like that before. This is a totally new version of Devika that I am only now discovering. I don't know how my team-mates feel about it, but, internally, I feel like I am more focused and mentally stronger."

According to an Ashoka University report published in June, about 73% of Indian women leave their jobs after childbirth, and 48% of those who return to the workplace quit within four months of rejoining. Vaidya, who had her family supporting her at every stage, acknowledges that she faced fewer challenges than many other working women in similar circumstances.

"If I know that someone is going to be at home with my baby when I am not around, half of the problems get solved," she says. "And then I get the confidence that if I have this much, I ought to play well. That's all I want at this point. I also ensure that I don't mix up ground and home. [For instance] I won't show it on the ground in training or a match if, say, I haven't slept well. Or I won't bring home my disappointment of not doing well with the bat or ball.

"It is exhausting. But at the end of the day, you are glad that you are keeping your baby happy, your family happy, and yourself, most importantly. In the first five years, when the baby is growing up, mothers tend to forget about themselves. Their mental health, their physical health, everything comes second in line. But I feel it should all be the same. If you look at the previous generations [of mothers], they have a lot of health issues because they have not focused on themselves at all. It is not their fault, but now when we have supportive husbands, in-laws and families, things are a little different."

Vaidya credits Tejal Hasabnis (left), her close friend and now India player, with keeping her competitive when she returned to training•Devika Vaidya

The ICC launched return-to-play guidelines for players coming back after pregnancy in June this year, and member boards are expected to formulate their own policies using the ICC document as a base. The stipulations include flexible training environments, continued access to facilities and services, childcare advice, suitable spaces for feeding or caring for babies at playing venues, and travel support, where possible.

While the BCCI is yet to draw up a maternity policy at the central level, Vaidya's journey has the potential to inspire a pathway back to the game for others like her. The Maharashtra Cricket Association and its support staff has been accommodating towards Vaidya, giving her flexibility, be it for the training schedule or the intensity of it. They have also helped her with separate accommodation during pre-season training games away so someone can travel with her to help with the baby.

Maharashtra's pre-season camp starting earlier than usual this seasons also benefited Vaidya. It allowed her to assess her fitness against the expected standards and clear her yo-yo tests before the season began. She will return to competitive cricket in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy, which starts on October 26, but will have little time to make an impression before the WPL 2027 auction in Kochi two days later.

"I don't want to put any pressure on myself because I want to enjoy the match," Vaidya says. "I haven't experienced what I am experiencing now for a long time. So I am not thinking about the auction timing and all. Obviously, I would love to play the WPL and at the highest level, too. But I will just give my best, and I think everyone else will do whatever is in their control."

Just as we finish our conversation, a few teenaged girls who have been training in the nets walk towards Vaidya for a photo, little knowing how she could be paving the way for more inclusive policies for their future. Very few players have played domestically or been part of the WPL after motherhood. With close to 30 internationals under her belt and a couple of T20 World Cup appearances, Vaidya is arguably the highest-profile Indian cricketer to make the case for a sporting ecosystem that allows women to return to their careers after starting a family.

S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at Cricinfo. @Sudarshanan7