CINDERELLA IN FLANNE

‘I want my mother to quit her job’
Bhavesh Patel, 20, Mumbai
-Devendra Pandey
Though it’s a cliched query but it also happens to be a time-tested ‘breaking the ice’ routine when it comes to tongue-tied young cricketers and their first uncomfortable brush with media. ‘What do you expect from your first season?’ usually triggers the imagination of the young minds who end up talking about wickets, runs, fivers, centuries or learning from the seniors.
Mumbai’s newest cap — 20-year-old leg-spinner Bhavesh Patel — too speaks about wickets and making an impression, but suddenly he drifts from the usual. “I want my mother to quit her job,” he says. To understand this, one needs to jump cuts from the sprawling Wankhede Stadium to his 9X10 feet Walkeshwar one-room house that Patel shares with two siblings and his mother.
Since his father passed away three years ago, his mother Chhaya’s workplace is the kitchens of six upmarket houses in the neighbourhood. And considering the nature of the job, it’s an uncompromising seven-day week. The young boy is reluctant to invite the media’s probing eyes into his home, but gradually gives in. It’s late morning and the mother is in a rush to switch from ‘cooking for kids to cooking for employers’.
“I wouldn’t be late for work, it’s just a 15-minute walk from our place,” she says politely. The son later explains that there also happens to be a bus that can take her faster but his mother prefers to walk: “The money she saves on the bus fare, she spends on us.”
Posing for pictures, she is a bit apprehensive but visible pleased too. She constantly turns towards the wall clock and finally, says “ab main chaloon”. Ask her about her son’s cricketing skills and all she can offer is a smile. “He must be playing well, that’s why he has been selected. I never asked him about his cricket, his brother and coach are there. But I know he’ll make it big,” she says.
Dreaming to make it big was never a problem for Walkeshwar’s have-nots. It’s that South Mumbai suburb where luxury sky-scrapers look down upon dingy one-rooms. Patel jokes about this disparity. “I tell my friends that I live in Walkeshwar and they all are quite impressed,” he says as he points to the lane leading to the Governor’s bungalow and the sea-facing building where Sachin Tendulkar lives.
The youngster talks about the hardships that he faced but not with any bitterness. “After my father’s death, my elder brother quit cricket and got a job. Things were quite tough for us during those days,” he says.
Patel’s coach Sharad Rumde was around during this difficult phase. “Bhavesh was a regular at nets but once there was a big break. I found out that there was a financial problem and that’s when I decided to train him for free. When he moved to a school with a cricket culture, I paid the fees too,” he said.
Patel too talks about playing important matches with borrowed shoes and kits. “At times, my brother and I used to do the scoring for local matches. That would earn us Rs 150 per day. But there was no question of investing it on cricketing gear since we had to contribute at home,” he says.
After those days of struggle, Patel today is one of the most promising young spinners in Mumbai. He once met the former Test leggie Narendra Hirwani and learnt a few tricks from him. In case he gets a game, Patel hopes to use those. Will he be able to deliver on the big stage? The young leggie gets a serious look. “Accha karoonga nahi, mujhe accha karna hi padega,” he says.

‘Good education for my siblings’
Mohinder Sharma, 21, Himachal Pradesh
-Swarup kar Purkayastha
As Mohinder Sharma starts his first Ranji season, he has a number of things on his mind. The dream of being the pace spearhead for Himachal Pradesh, to be among the top wicket-takers and get the big break. But co-existing with these thoughts are other concerns like building a house for his family, the balance sheet of his small-scale fruit business and taking care of his elder siblings’ schooling.
After losing his father a year and half back, the 21-year-old from Kullu happens to be the sole bread-winner for the Sharma family.
“It’s a very important season for me. Not just because I am making my debut, and have to cement my place in the team, but also in terms of economics. I want to build a house in Kullu. I know my dream will come true,” says Mohinder.
“Initially, there was a lot of pressure to give up the game. But I kept on playing. And since I started doing well for my district and state in various age groups, everyone at home started supporting me,” he says.
He has taken 22 wickets from four matches for Himachal Pradesh in the under-22 CK Nayudu Trophy. The previous year he had taken 20 wickets in the same tournament.

‘I aim to be with the best’
Pradeep Sangwan, 18, Delhi
-G. S. Vivek
He remembers his little fights with bus-conductors and the long, hard journey from Najafgarh. Today, Pradeep Sangwan takes great pride in looking at his gleaming new car. The Delhi left-arm seamer has caught the eye of the junior selectors, making it into the India U-19 team to Sri Lanka, and now wants the senior set to remember him after he winds up this first-class season.
Sangwan is aware that in case he wants to be upwardly mobile, success at senior level will be vital.
“This season is very important to me, it’s my first. I have played the one-dayers but the longer version is a different ball-game and I am really excited. When I am bowling, I am not concerned about who is batting; it’s just about me. I want to take a wicket every ball. I just am eager to bowl with pace,” he says candidly. “I have seen Ishant Sharma and Virat (Kohli) walking onto a bigger platform through impressive performances in the first year. I want to hang out with them at that level too.”

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‘I want to help father build The house’
Kamlesh Makvana, 24, Saurashtra
-Swarup Kar Purkayastha
For about three decades, Rasik Makvana has been the groundsman at the Race Course Stadium in Rajkot. His son Kamlesh grew up helping his father prepare pitches and push the roller. At 24, Kamlesh is a Ranji regular but still his top priority is to support his father.
“I saw my father undergo a lot of hardship. Now I want to play well and make him proud. Right now he’s building a house that he always dreamt of. I want to contribute to that,” says the off-spinner.
For that Kamlesh wants Saurashtra to at least reach the semi-finals this time. “There will be three spinners in the team. This means that I get less overs. But I will try to be as effective as I can. My batting is also improving, so I would like to make a mark as an all-rounder,” says Kamlesh.
Makvana senior too recalls the old days. “Yes, I wanted him to help me with my work. He worked with me for sometime. But everyone asked me to allow him to play cricket. And so I freed him to follow his destiny. His success has made me so happy,” he says.

WISH: goodbye to frying fish
Ravi Inder Rajji, 21, Punjab
-Shalini gupta
For Ravi Inder Rajji, it is usually the case of ‘out of the fire and into the frying pan’. The 21-year-old Punjab debutant, after facing the heat from the bowlers, lends a helping hand to his father, who sells fried fish for a living in Patiala. Rajji has seen the hardships and thinks that success on the field will make everyone at home more comfortable.
Considering the kind of reputation he has, it looks like the Rajji household’s days of hand-to-mouth existence are over. Rajji, who has been a promising batsman — scoring around 1400 runs in the under-19s and under-22 — has impressed Punjab skipper Pankaj Dharmani. “He is the modern-day cricketer. He has the technique for an opening batsman, can play his strokes, has a good cricketing mind and is a very good fielder-catcher in the gully position,” he says.
“I know what is expected from me,” says Rajji, “and like any youngster I want to learn from my seniors.”