Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Mritunjay Tripathi,30
Office superintendent,Indian Railways,Varanasi 2000 World Cup winner
Chinmay Brahme
As Mritunjay Tripathi sits in the Northern Railways office in Varanasi,leafing through files,his mind inevitably wanders to that muggy evening in Colombo on January 28 when India lifted their first ICC U-19 World Cup,defeating hosts Sri Lanka. At that point,we felt like the world was at our feet. We had won the first-ever youth World Cup. There were felicitations and glowing praise showered on us. It was like we could do no wrong, says Tripathi.
The sky seemed the limit for Tripathi as he had already made his Ranji Trophy debut for Uttar Pradesh in 1999 and the World Cup win only showcased his talent further. But three years later,Tripathi played his last first-class game for Uttar Pradesh.
I suffered a groin injury which just refused to heal. I lost valuable time and with that,my place in the UP side, he says. Tripathi continued to train for a couple of years but realised that a comeback was not really on the cards. The frustration was overpowering. I did not know what to do. Since the age of five,cricket had consumed my life. When I realised that a cricketing future was not for me,I took a lot of time dealing with it, he says.
In 2003,he took up a job with Northern Railways and progressed to the rank of office superintendent. The first couple of years,he tried hard to make the Railways Ranji team,figuring in two national camps,but failed to win a place in the side. After my second camp,it was clear that I just could not play at the same level as earlier, he says . It was then that I decided it was time to dive into work.
Chandrashekhar Atram,28
Technical hand with Indian Railways,Nagpur 2002 World Cup
Chinmay Brahme
Tinkering with engines and aligning the hydraulic machinery of locomotives is something that Chandrashekhar Atram would never have dreamt of doing. Atram,a former U-19 World Cup player,has been doing that for the past five years since he took up a job with Central Railways. Atram is one of the few cricketers from Vidarbha to have played for the national youth side in the showpiece tournament. When I was selected for the U-19 team,it was very unexpected. We didnt do exceptionally well in the 2002 edition but I managed to play a couple of games and picked up three wickets. It was quite a big thing for me, says Atram,who is now based in Nagpur.
Atrams talent as a left-arm seamer was apparent from the beginning and he made his first-class debut in 1999,playing for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy. Over seven years,Atram made 32 first-class appearances,scalping 82 wickets and scoring 801 runs. In 2007,he moved to take up a job with the Central Railways in the technical department. I had to take up the job because I am the sole breadwinner of the family, he says. While many of his World Cup mates could afford to solely focus on improving their cricketing skills and take that big leap to the senior India team,Atram had other responsibilities on his mind. So instead of taking the all or broke risk,the boy from a middle-class family opted to take a safe option. His dream of playing for the Indian Railways team was over as he failed to make the final squad on two occasions. I was performing well for Vidarbha and I thought I could do the same for the Railways, he says.
Khanin Saikia ,28
Sports manager,Auckland
2002 World Cup
Chinmay Brahme
Khanin Saikia is only the second player from Assam,in fact the entire Northeast,to be selected for an U-19 World Cup. Saikia,a promising left-arm spinner,was picked for the 2002 edition in New Zealand. It was a proud moment for me,and though I did not play a single game for the country,I learnt a lot by just being in the national set-up, he says. Saikia returned from his U-19 sojourn and readied himself to play an instrumental part in Assams domestic campaigns.
However,the Assam selectors picked Saikia for just one game and then forgot about him. I never really understood why the selectors ignored me after just one first-class game. I was fed a number of excuses about how they needed someone talented like me to lead the U-19 state team and how they were saving me for a later time, he says. Saikia stuck around for a couple of years and then decided that life as a cricketer was not for him. It was a tough decision to pack up and leave cricket. I had harboured hopes of leading Assams bowling attack but I think politics and favouritism got the better of that, says Saikia. The selectors were more interested in bringing in talent from outside the state rather than from within. That was the last straw for me.
In 2005,Saikia packed his bags and moved to Delhi to study management. He then took up a job with Bank of America and later moved to HSBC. In 2010,he was awarded the John Wright Scholarship which took him to New Zealand,where he works in a sports management firm and also coaches junior players at the Southland cricket club in Auckland.
Sumit Panda,32
Investment banker,Manchester 1998 World Cup
Karthik Krishnaswamy
A decade-and-a-half before Varun Aaron first strained the speedgun needle past the 150-kph mark,another fast bowler from Jamshedpur was forging a reputation for raw pace. Sumit Panda had just turned 17 when he made his first-class debut for Bihar against Mumbai in the 1996-97 Ranji Trophy season. A year later,he was part of Indias squad at the 1998 U-19 World Cup in South Africa,and posed for team photographs alongside Virender Sehwag,Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif.
Panda didnt play a game during the tournament,but came back to India full of hope for his future.
I was already playing first-class cricket by then,and the expectation was that Id do really well and build on the experience of being part of the U-19 team at the World Cup, he says.
The likes of Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag were soon to make their India debut. Someone who would play a massive role in shaping those two players careers,meanwhile,also had his eyes on Panda. Sourav Ganguly suggested that I move to Bengal, says Panda. He thought it might be helpful for me.
It might well have been,had an injury not intervened. In another eerie parallel with Aaron,Pandas back gave way. It wasnt the first time,or the last.
I had my first stress fracture in only my second first-class game,back in 97 at Hyderabad, says Panda. The coaches at the MRF Pace Academy were monitoring it quite closely,and did a bit of work with my action,but it never really went away.
After just four Ranji matches for Bengal in 1999-00,and after missing all of the 2000-01 season,Panda went back to Bihar.
In 2004-05,the Bihar Ranji team became Jharkhands,and Panda too was reborn. Till then,his figures were typical of a pacy but one-dimensional bowler49 first-class wickets in seven seasons at a modest 47.92,and 33 one-day wickets at a far more impressive 21.88. But his first season as a Jharkhand player fetched him 21 Ranji wickets at 19.85.
A trip to the UK for an MBA meant that Panda missed the next season,but he returned in 2006-07,and took 15 wickets at 20.53. He was still only 27,but his time was up. His back would have the final say.
I had slipped discs at three places,and I was advised not to play any more, he says. I guess it wasnt worth it anymore,being a cricketer.
Panda went back to the UK,and now works for an investment bank in Manchester. He continues playing cricket,captaining Urmston in the Cheshire Premier League. I play as a batsman now,and bowl a bit of off spin, he says. My back wont let me bowl fast anymore.
Nikhil Rathod, 27
Ticket Checker with Railways,Mumbai
2004 World Cup
Devendra Pandey
The place he frequents every day now is nothing like the cricketers dressing room,full of chatter and hope. This room is smaller,dingier and,on some days,a tad despairing. Its the booking office of Guru Teg Bahadur railway station on Mumbais equally unglamorous Harbour Line. These days,the most pressing question on Nikhil Rathods mind is not tackling opposition bowlers. It is how to deal with ticketless travellers.
The ill-tailored blazer he wears doesnt carry BCCIs logo anymore. But Rathod,once an India prospect,bravely puts on a proud smile,pointing to the Indian Railways engine embossed on his coat.
The 27-year-old Rathod,a middle-order batsman,represented India at the U-15,U-17 and U-19 levels.
But his fortunes faded dramatically after the heady U-19 days. Post U-19,life is completely different. In junior cricket,things go as you wish. But once you are thrown into the big lake,only a few can navigate their way. Normal behaviour becomes attitude for others. Players sometimes get caught in senior-junior tensions. Only those who are focused and keep performing,survive, says Rathod.
He still remembers the days he spent with Suresh Raina,Robin Uthappa,RP Singh and Dinesh Karthik,all of whom went on to play for India. Showing BBM chats with them,Rathod says he is still in touch with them. He still has the jersey he exchanged with England captain Alastair Cook in the Costcutter Under-15 World Challenge 2000.
After we lost the 2004 junior World Cup,some people abused us at Kolkata airport because we lost to Pakistan. I thought things will be fine and I will get my chance. Once I was dropped from the Saurashtra team because I didnt pick my seniors kitbag. The reason given later was that Im not a team man, he says.
He often watches young cricketers at the station with their kitbags and thinks that had he been born some years later,perhaps life couldve been different. At least these U-19 players will get a chance of playing IPL and showcase their talent. We never had that privilege, he says.
Rajagopalan Shyamsunder, 43
Banker,chennai 1988 World Cup
GS Vivek
Thanks for reminding me. I had almost forgotten those wonderful years, says Rajagopalan Shyamsunder. The middle-order batsman was one of the four Tamil Nadu players in that squad for the junior World Cup in 1987 but he was the only one in the batch who didnt get an opportunity to play first-class cricket. Maybe I wasnt good enough to break into that team, he says.
The Tamil Nadu Ranji team in those days had batsmen like Krishnamachari Srikkanth,WV Raman,Robin Singh and VB Chandrashekhar. Shyamsunder found it tough to enter this talented seniors team.
So he chose banking as a career instead. The 43-year-old is now assistant vice-president at Axis Bank,heading its Avadi branch in Chennai. I didnt want to get disappointed or frustrated. I was good in academics and when I turned 26,I decided to get an MBA. I had many friends outside the world of cricket and that helped me deal with the switch better, he says.
He may have not made it to the Ranji team but Shyamsunder is happy to have had a shot at the game. When our team didnt qualify for the World Cup final,our coach Vasu Paranjpe told me we didnt qualify because I couldnt get too many runs. Initially,I was taken aback but later I realised that he had a high regard for my batting. Sometimes I feel bad that I couldnt get too many runs in that tournament for my team, he says.
Shyamsunder is still in touch with cricket,managing a fourth-division club in Chennai,and he still makes an occasional appearance on the circuit. Only on Sundays, he says. Shyamsunder,who also sponsors poor children with equipment,says he is content with his corporate life and letting cricket be what it always has beenhis passion.
Mohan Chaturvedi, 41
Income Tax inspector,delhi 1988 World Cup
GS Vivek
Its the time of the year when Mayur Bhawan,the complex that houses the Income Tax Department in Delhi,is buzzing with activity. These are busy days for Mohan Chaturvedi,once a U-19 World Cup player,now a tax inspector.
When picked for the inaugural edition of the junior World Cup in 1988,the young wicket-keeper would not have imagined one day he would be so far removed from the game. I still have a replica of the World Cup. It used to have a silver coating but thats gone now, says the 41-year-old. He had returned home from Australia with a Man of the Match award.
Thats when the script changed. Repeated snubs and rejections by senior selectors wrecked Chaturvedis confidence. I knew I should have played for the country but I didnt. I couldnt bear the disappointment on the faces of my parents. I became depressed. It was important for me to stay away from cricket. During that time,I got this job,got married and became a father, he says.
It was only when his son,Trigambar,grew up and saw photographs of his father alongside Sachin Tendulkar,Sourav Ganguly and his well-preserved India U-19 blazer and cap,that Chaturvedi decided to renew his relationship with cricket. He started visiting stadiums again and returned to the game as a selector for the Delhi U-14 team. But his stint was brief,lasting just one year. Chaturvedi isnt complaining though. Cricket,after all,is a game of glorious uncertainties.
