'It just really does put things in perspective'

Australia's cricketers have taken an eye-opening trip to an inspirational school for young Indian girls.

Steve O'Keefe, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khawaja and Ashton Agar visited Yuwa, an non-government organisation based in Ranchi, ahead of the third Test starting Thursday.

The Aussies witnessed first-hand the power that sport can have for young women when they met the students of the school that aims to empower girls by combating child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking.

PITCH PROBLEMS: Aussies gobsmacked by Ranchi deck

Yuwa uses sport to encourage the girls to change their future, working off the theory that being part of an organised team encourages attendance.

"It just really does put things in perspective," O'Keefe said.

"I look around here and think about the education and the privileged life that I had growing up.

"Some of these girls have to travel four or five kilometres a day just to get to work. They're up at four, five o'clock and you realise how fortunate you are.

"On the flip side you realise how tough and resilient these girls are. They want to be successful, they want to break the mould and through education they're being able to do it."

For O'Keefe, the experience made him realise that sometimes cricket isn't as important as it's made out to be.

"At times you can get caught up playing cricket thinking it's the be all and end all and not making runs is the most important thing," he said.

"Being able to have these experiences out here, listening to their stories and being able to share some of your stories it shows that cricket is more than a game. It transcends ages, genders and cultures.

"It's important for us as Australian cricketers to do that and continue to do that into the future.

We'll get more well-rounded cricketers on and off the field."

Students who attend Yuwa are found to pay more attention to their own health and the health of teammates.

Team captains keep track of school attendance and help facilitate daily study sessions.