BackA tale of two fast bowlers
One was picked up at the Indian Premier League auction for a colossal fee, the other didn't make it to any team. But both hope to play for Team India one day
PremiumNEW DELHI :
On the heels of the thrilling World Twenty20 (T20) comes the Indian Premier League (IPL), which begins on 9 April. One of the great joys of the IPL is that it throws up young, raw talent, giving viewers the chance to watch international stars in the making. This year, many eyes will be on a bowler named Nathu Singh.
Go back to the winter of 2014. It was a nondescript Under-19 (U-19) match in Jaipur. Rajasthan were playing Madhya Pradesh (MP). Singh, the young, fast bowler who led the Rajasthan attack, watched with increasing admiration the work of his MP counterpart, Avesh Khan. Khan, in turn, watched Singh with awe. The two fast bowlers enjoyed assessing each other’s raw speed and skill. That brief encounter soon turned into a firm friendship.
Three months later, they became partners—a dangerous and fast opening duo for the Central Zone U-19 team. Singh and Khan liked the way they worked together. They spoke of a shared dream: to play for India, to share the new ball wearing the blue jersey, working in tandem to unsettle opposing batsmen.
Since then, both bowlers have made their first-class debuts: Khan for MP in December 2014, and Singh for Rajasthan last October.
“I thought people were joking when I got to know about it," Singh, 20, says. “I had no idea why anyone would want me at all." But his T20 record of 21 wickets in 11 matches with a fantastic average of 11.09, at an economy rate of just 5.63, was enough to interest not just MI but other teams as well.
Does the price tag come with its own pressure? “For me, the IPL is a route to the Indian team," says Singh. “That’s my aim. My father told me he wants to see me in the Indian jersey. So the money is fine, but that aim does not change."
Khan went unsold at the IPL auction. This came as a surprise to him. While Singh had never played for the India U-19 side, Khan had been picked for the U-19 World Cup in January-February. He had bowled well, picking up 12 wickets in six matches, with an exceptional economy rate (3.48). In the final against the West Indies, which India lost, Khan had bowled 10 overs for just 29 runs and picked up a wicket too.
“Selection is never under the control of a player, although I was expecting to be picked since everyone was talking about my chances," says 19-year-old Khan. But Rahul Dravid, India U-19 coach, motivated him. “He told me to work even harder: ‘10 lakh wala nahi, crore wala khiladi bano (Become the player worth a crore, not ₹ 10 lakh),’" says Khan. His non-inclusion surprised many, including Singh. “I felt sad for him. It would have been great if he, too, had been picked by a franchise," Singh says.
Dravid, however, says auctions can be unpredictable. “I don’t think you should judge a player by the price he was bought for at the auction."
Just three years ago, both Khan and Singh were bowling with tennis balls in narrow lanes, in neighbourhood matches where they were the kings, known for their pace and accuracy. It was during such a match in a Jaipur lane that people told Singh he should pick up a real cricket ball and go through formal training—he was too fast for gali mohalla cricket.
This was easier said than done. Singh comes from a low-income family. His father works in a wire-manufacturing factory near Jaipur. Joining a cricket academy would cost him ₹ 10,000 a year, money that his parents did not have.
“But my father said, ‘Go and join. I will pay what I can and then we will see what happens,’" Singh says. He joined the Surana Cricket Academy in Jaipur, and it changed everything. The academy subsidized his fees, and by the end of 2014, he was playing for the Rajasthan U-19. Soon, he was selected by the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, where he would be trained by Glenn McGrath, the Australian fast bowler. In 2015, Singh made an outstanding debut against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, picking up seven wickets in the match.
“His father could not afford to fulfil all the requirements of a professional cricketer, so he requested me to look after the future of his son," recalls Manish Singh, a former Rajasthan opener who runs an academy in Jaipur and is a coach-cum-mentor for Singh. According to Manish, it took him just a few balls to realize how talented Singh was. “I won’t call him a prodigy. He was not very strong in the beginning, but was blessed with unusually strong shoulders, which helps him in generating pace, and his run-up was quite rhythmic."
Khan, too, had found a mentor. When he was just 13, Khan had been spotted by former India opener Amay Khurasia at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association in Indore. Khurasia is disappointed that Khan did not make it to the IPL. “The IPL would have been great for him, not for the money, but for the exposure he would have got," he says. “The more you play in different kinds of conditions and formats, and the more you are hammered, the more you grow as a bowler."
But Khurasia and Khan are both confident that Khan will play for India soon. “During the (U-19) World Cup, Tom Moody (former Australian all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach) was saying to someone that me and Rishabh Pant (his U-19 teammate) would play for the senior team. Moody said he had said the same thing about David Warner and Glenn Maxwell (both of whom are now stars in the Australian team). So it felt nice," says Khan.
In Indian cricket, pace is a virtue that acquires tremendous value because of its rarity. So fast bowlers often get selected quickly in the senior side when they display talent. Some of the pacers in domestic cricket, however, believe that obsession with pace can harm someone like Singh, who always checks his speed rather than his line and length when the pitch-map of his bowling is presented to him after the day’s play.
“I will never compromise on my pace," says Singh. “I want to serve India, and Yuvraj Singh has told me that my speed will take me places. I have a dream of becoming the fastest bowler in the world, someone like Shoaib Akhtar or Dale Steyn."
Khan is inspired by the pace of Brett Lee, but understands that speed is not everything in international cricket. “Steyn and Mohammed Shami are aggressive fast bowlers," Khan says. “But they are always accurate with line and length."
If Singh grew up bowling with plastic and tennis balls in Jaipur, Khan did the same in Indore. He decided to pursue cricket seriously four years ago. “In 2012, I closely followed the U-19 World Cup in Australia," Khan says. “I was inspired by Unmukt Chand (the then India U-19 captain) and his team."
Both Singh and Khan bowl at speeds of over 140kmph and are expected to add more variety and speed to their armoury. Singh may have won the short sprint to an IPL contract, but it’s the marathon run to the India cap that both are interested in. It will test their resolve and abilities. But sharing the India dressing room and the new ball for the country remains their ultimate goal.
Vimal Kumar is the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
