Saiyami Kher has been passionate about cricket since childhood. But playing a cricketer on screen is a different ball game altogether. In R Balki’s Ghoomer, the actor essays a cricket prodigy who, after an injury, is determined to chase her dream and learns to play the sport with her left hand.

The makers roped in former cricketer and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik to train her. “I had to learn how to become a left-arm spinner,” says the right-handed actor. “Murali Kartik’s bowling is as beautiful as it gets. He is a wonderful spinner with an orthodox style—loopy trajectory with good spin and bounce.”

Before the unit took the Kher, Abhishek Bachchan and Shabana Azmi-starrer on floors, the leading lady did a few practice sessions with Kartik in early 2022, in Mumbai.

“We trained together for a few days. After that, I’d keep sending him videos, and he used to guide me on the areas that needed improvement. Since I know the basics of the game, he’d guide me about technical changes, like backfoot movement or how the landing foot should be placed,” says Kher.