Most of the time, when I sit down to write, it’s either opinion or analysis. This time, when RevSportz asked me to write a piece on Mukesh Kumar, the Bengal fast bowler, who has been included in the Indian cricket team to tour West Indies, I was really excited. The simple reason being that I have seen this dream story unfold in front of my own eyes, and would also like to think that I have played a small part in this amazing journey.
Vision 2020 was a dream project that was started by The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in 2014. Waqar Younus, VVS Laxman and Muttiah Muralitharan were in charge of fast bowling, batting and spin bowling. A few handy few men, right? All the clubs under the auspices of the CAB were asked to send two batters, two fast bowlers and two spinners for the trials. The Bengal probables of all age groups were of course included.
The Jadavpur University Campus, which is CAB’s B ground, was the chosen venue. When I reached at 9am, the place had the look of a carnival. It was beautifully decorated and there were hordes of people, from journalists to enthusiasts and everyone in between. Security was airtight with the dignitaries there, and rightly so. Proceedings began and I could not help but notice a bunch of young boys waiting under a tree; not being allowed to be in the thick of things.
There must have been about 14 or 15 of them. They are always there, aren’t they? I moved away with work and the next time my attention fell on this bunch of boys was at lunch. By then, the number had diminished to about eight or nine. Cut to end of the day’s proceedings, and Ranadeb Bose, Bengal’s bowling coach, and I were trudging back to my car after a long and strenuous day.
On our way to the car, something unusual caught my attention. Under that tree, that had offered shelter to those bystanders all day, there was one boy still standing and looking at us with a rather forlorn look. We both felt pity and decided to have a chat with him. He said he was there to give trials because his club had not sent his name. Fair enough, we both thought, but we were also sure that if his club had not sent his name, he probably would not make the cut.
That is the practical part, but there is a humane side to all of us. Thankfully, the latter prevailed that day or else, I would not be writing this piece. We asked him if he had spikes, to which he nodded, taking out this half-torn, worn-out pair with a lot of the studs missing. Rono and I looked at each other and sighed. I had SG balls in my backpack, and gave him one. We walked up to the nets, and he was doing his stretches on the way.
He bowled a couple of balls, and looked decent. Nothing outstanding, but he wasn’t meant to be. We asked him to come the next day. We wanted Waqar Younus to have a look at him. Waqar thought we should keep him in the group and that he had some potential, as the first ball he bowled shattered the batter’s stumps. As good as that sounds, that can also happen because of the inadequacy of the batter. Whatever it was, this boy had done enough.
Long story short, Kamlesh Jain, now the physio of Indian men’s team, who was doing that job for Bengal at the time, assessed him and said he was undernourished. Being from a humble background had taken a toll on his strength and conditioning. My question to Kamlesh, as the Director of Cricket, was what was the way forward. He advised us to look after his diet, and his strength and conditioning.
Sourav Ganguly was appraised of the development and he made arrangements for this boy to stay on the CAB premises. His diet plan was made in consultation with the strength-and-conditioning coach and the physio. Nine months after this, Bengal were in Chennai to play the Buchi Babu Tournament. I went as coach of the team, and in his first game, he picked up a five-for against Assam Cricket Association. Later, he made his Ranji debut at Lahli and picked up the great Virendar Sehwag, shouldering arms. I would request everyone to see this ball as the footage is there on YouTube. I never get tired of watching it!
That boy is Mukesh Kumar. Ishan Porel, Under-19 World Cup winner, Mukesh and young Akashdeep, who I hope to write about soon – another fascinating story – had become the spearheads of Bengal’s fast bowling, and the huge gap left by the retirement of Ashoke Dinda, Bengal fast bowling legend, was barely noticed. To not miss a bowler with 420 first-class wickets just goes to show the success of Vision 2020, the brainchild of Ganguly, one of Bengal’s favourite sons.
Mukesh, under the astute coaching of Ranadeb, went from strength to strength. His work ethic was exemplary, his desire was second to none, and his discipline right at the top. Quiet, unassuming and brilliant. Mukesh started picking up wickets like he was shelling peas. His wickets always included India players, past and current. They were invariably top-order batters. His wickets came off unplayable balls. His wickets came thick and fast.
His forte is his accuracy, and here he can put a lot of spinners to shame. He always had a lethal outswinger, and now he has developed the one that jags back in. His bouncer has improved by leaps and bounds, and he knows his body and how to take care of it. Not one complaint, hardly ever on the physio’s table. All in all, one tough cookie. He is a fantastic red-ball bowler, and what makes him extra special is what he can do with the old ball. His movement is generally off the seam after pitching, which also means the batter has no idea what it is going to do. Because of the lengths he bowls, they hardly get any time to adjust. And batters just dread that. His white-ball bowling is also good, but more of a work in progress.
Bengal were taking on Karnataka in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy on the hallowed Eden Gardens turf in 2019. It was a big game, as you can imagine. A chance to play the final, and a chance to beat Karnataka, the last team to have won the treble in domestic cricket in India. A mouth-watering contest was on the cards. Karnataka had the likes of KL Rahul, R Samarth, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey and K Gowtham as batters, and looked formidable.
In the fourth innings, Mukesh took 6-61, to add to his 2-46 in the first innings, to bowl Bengal into the final. His match scalps included Rahul, Padikkal, Karun Nair, and Manish Pandey in both innings. All top -order batters. In one of his spells, he was blowing hard – it was his sixth over on the trot and Abhimanyu Easwaran, his captain, another I hope to write about at some point, asked him to take a breather. Mukesh pleaded with his captain for one more over.
He had a plan, and ended up taking two wickets in that extra over. No, he did not tell us this. It was something we got to know from the skipper. So there we were, basking in the glory of reaching a Ranji final and Mukesh was tucked in his corner seat, his best buddy Akashdeep by his side, completely oblivious to what he had done for the state.
My mind jogged back to that day at the Vision 2020 trials, and how a day’s wait made sure that Mukesh had 500 supporters waiting for over an hour at the Eden Gardens Club House gate that evening to catch a glimpse of their hero. Sometimes, when I lie back on my couch, I wonder if there could have been another Mukesh Kumar among those 14 boys who threw in the towel and left as the day progressed. It intrigues me no end. We will never know, will we? But waiting isn’t so bad, after all.