Saurabh spins ONGC to win
Way back in 2003,at one of the several cricket coaching camps held across the city throughout the year,a 11-year-old youngster made immediate impact on spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi.
Way back in 2003,at one of the several cricket coaching camps held across the city throughout the year,a 11-year-old youngster made immediate impact on spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi.
It was at the Jamia Milia University grounds and Saurabh Kumar had come to train under Bedi,one of the best left-arm spinners ever in the country.
As the youngest kid around,he was singled out by Bedi for special attention,but his performance with the ball meant his age receded to the shadows as Bedi,impressed by the smoothness of his action,decided there was more to Kumar.
Now 18 and on a stipend with ONGC,Kumar’s figures of 5/34 in the final of the Hot Weather tournament against Collage Group not only helped his team lift the title,they also proved the initial spark of talent was not a fluke.
“Although I have been with ONGC for four years now,I haven’t played many tournaments because of the presence of senior players. But this year I am getting enough chances to showcase my talent,with guidance from seniors like Sarandeep Singh,” said Kumar,who finished with eleven wickets from four matches through the tournament.
However,he hasn’t been as lucky with his state team. Kumar,who plays for Utttar Pradesh,has managed to impress with the state side in age group competition — the left-arm spinner has represented the state under-19 twice and taken 30 wickets in 8 matches — but has so far failed to make the cut for the main team.
“Initially,when I joined ONGC,I used to leave home at four in the morning and travel back to Baraut everyday after the match. It was tough but I was determined to play against better teams for experience. You also learn a lot from team mates who have been playing cricket for a long time,” he said.
Kumar,who stays in Delhi for a larger part of the year,has continued to stay in touch with his coaches here — Sunita Sharma and Bedi — even though his tournament scheduledoesn’t allow him to attend practice sessions with them often.
“For the past several months,I haven’t had a word with either of them; but whenever I need to be motivated mentally,both sir and ma’am ask me to keep working hard. I just follow their advise to bowl with a single wicket,and our ONGC coaches also help a lot,” said Kumar.
In the final,Collage batsmen found Kumar difficult to put away with his consistent line and length on a slower pitch. Once the field restrictions got over,Kumar changed tactics and stuck to what his captain ordered.
“It’s very important in such matches to bowl according to the field. I have learned a lot from these matches,which in turn has helped me in shorter formats of the game,” Kumar said.
Brief scores: Collage Group: 190 all out in 39.2 overs (Rahul Tewatia 55,Surender Dahiya 39,Mukul Dagar 20; Saurabh Kumar 5/34,Parveen Gupta 3/21); ONGC: 193 for 8 in 39.2 overs (Mohit Sharma 79,Puneet Mehra 29; Rahul Dagar 2/27,Yashpal 2/27)
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