Seven years ago, a young couple, filled with enthusiasm about setting up their new home in Australia, boarded a one-way flight from India. One a cricket tragic and the other, not so much. The tragic, of course, was me. One of the few things I brought from India was a used leather ball from my school days.

On our very first weekend here, my wife joined me on a pilgrimage to Bowral, home of Sir Don Bradman. She may not quite understand how a game can last five days and still end in a draw, but she’s always supported my cricket obsession with good humour and generosity. Cricket has underpinned my whole life. It has shaped friendships, sparked debates, and has now become a platform for my ambitions for our daughters. Together with my wife, I nurse a quiet dream that one day they’ll wear the green and gold for Australia.

Nikhil Kulkarni with his daughter Neeti, 6, at the gates to SCG. He is teaching his daughter how to play and sharing his love of the game.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Last summer, my six-year-old daughter Neeti and I participated in the Daughters and Dads Cricket program at the Cricket NSW facility in Silverwater, Sydney. Developed by Professor Philip Morgan at the University of Newcastle, the program mixes cricket skills with playful activities that get dads and daughters moving........

© The Sydney Morning Herald