Probably nobody would have thought that a student of Somalwar High School, who later on did her MBBS from Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital would become the Team Physican for Cricket Australia. Three years ago, she has not only migrated from Brunei to Australia but she made a change in her professional expertise. This is creditable. Even as very few women take orthopaedics, but Dr Sonali Ketan Pande, erstwhile Dr Sonali Sudhir Babhulkar showed courage to do so. She is carrying the legacy of her father but she has a very proud feeling that she has earned the credentials on her own. She is self-made and known as Dr Sonali in her profession abroad. Dr Sonali is in India as she accompanied Deaf and Hard of Hearing cricket team of Australia. A tri-series is being played in India with the host India, South Africa and Australia are participating in it. The T20 International Tri-series for deaf and hard of reading men's cricket teams will be held between March 2 and March 8 in New Delhi. After the tri-series, India will play a three-match ODI series with Australia from March 10 to March 12. There are a lot of challenges to be faced by the Team Physician.

 

Though Dr Sonali does not have to take care of every single thing of the team, she needs to monitor the team members’ health off the field and on the field. In Deaf team, most members are the ones who had undergone cochlear implant procedure. During their play, these players have to remove the equipment and play. With the implant, they can hear but without it they can’t hear a word. This leads to some accidental injuries on the ground. In normal match, suppose two players run and try to take a catch, then they give a call to each other to avoid any collision. Here in Deaf’s cricket such collisions are common.

 

The physician has to take care of their such injuries. Of course, this is one part of the role Dr Sonali plays. She has to get the players back to their routine in optimum time, helping them attain a high quality of life! “There is a sign language expert who takes care of interpreting, understanding and communicating with us and with the players. Handling them is no doubt a challenge but being cricket lover, I get to learn from them,” expressed Dr Sonali Pande. Throughout her school and college education, Dr Sonali earned top position which she maintained in later life also. She is a strong advocate of patient empowerment and holistic care, and with her expertise in managing the musculoskeletal problems. Usually a very few women voluntarily take orthopaedics and Dr Sonali Pande is among them. With her experience of 25 years in the field of Orthopaedics and traumatology, she can offer her patients evidence-based treatment for sprains, fractures, various types of arthritis, sports injuries and repetitive stress injuries. Dr Sonali has done Masters degrees in Orthopaedics from India and UK. She has Graduate Diploma and Masters in Sports Medicine from Australia and a certificate in Rheumatology from the US. Dr Sonali Pande comes from the background where everyone is orthopaedic surgeon-- her father Dr Sudhir Babhulkar, her brother Dr Sushrut, her husband Dr Ketan. But she has taken a different path which is creditable. When Dr Sonali came with Cricket Austalia to India, many people expressed surprise when they came to know an Indian that too a woman is the Team Physician for that team. She knows she has miles to go but she is also confident that she is growing, her excellence will make her grow more.