Cinderella story: Son of unskilled factory worker, Rajasthan Pacer is picked up for Rs 3.2cr by Mumbai Indians
Saibal Bose | TNN | Feb 7, 2016, 01.00 AM IST
JAIPUR: This is a story of how a borrowed sum of money ended up looking like a million bucks. Literally. Bharat Singh approached a local money lender for Rs 10,000 so that he could enrol his son in one of Jaipur's premier cricket academies. That was four years ago. On Saturday, his son Nathu Singh, a tearaway pacer from Rajasthan who today repeatedly clocks 140kmph, was courted by the likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL auctions where 351 cricketers went under the hammer with eight franchisees offering roughly a total of Rs 138 crores for them.
In the end, cricket's big-pursed suitors were edged out by Mumbai Indians who forked out Rs 3.2 crore for the 20-year-old to immediately script the Cinderella story heading going into the ninth edition of the lucrative T20 league.
As it all unfolded in Bengaluru, Bharat Singh, unskilled labour employed in a modest set-up that produces electrical wires just outside Jaipur, was busy at work - when he is not operating the cutting machine, he is busy ferrying rolls of the finished product to clients in the city for a paltry Rs 8,000 each month. "God exists!" was all he could say, for till Saturday a sum of Rs 12,000 was the most the family had seen in one go and here was Rs 3.2 crores that Mumbai Indians were paying for his son as it was nothing. "He exists," Bharat Singh whispered again, this time telling himself more than anyone else who was listening.
Nathu, who made everyone sit up and take notice with his seven-wicket haul in second innings against Delhi on his Ranji Trophy debut in October last, found an unlikely voice of support in Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi skipper who was one of the victims of the rookie's raw pace. Gambhir's thumping endorsement may have helped him earn a spot in the Board President's XI squad against South Africa. It was indication that he was being noticed. "You could not ignore him after that," P Krishnakumar, Rajasthan bowling coach, told TOI. "He was consistently bowling at over 140 kmph." A stint at the MRF Academy helped him finetune his skills and Nathu was on his way to bigger things.
But even the tension of the auction was too much to bear for the pacer. "I couldn't stay at home as my mother (a homemaker) was getting tense," he said, "so I fetched up at a friend's place. But when my name came up for the auction, I was tense too.
The bidding process for Nathu was an education of sorts for the youngster. "When the first bid (Rs 10 lakh, base price) was made for me by RCB, I was overjoyed," he said, "At that time, the amount didn't matter. The fact that there was a bid for me was enough for my friends to start celebrating."
Even when the figure crossed the Rs 3 cr mark after Mumbai outbid Delhi and RCB, the joy was still for the first bid. "Now I am slowly realizing the significance of this amount." And also the significance of his parents' contribution in making him what he is.
Around four years ago, when Nathu, the elder of the two sons, expressed a desire to play cricket, Bharat Singh wasn't quite sure what it would lead to. "I decided to support him," Bharat told TOI. "We approached Surana Academy and managed to get him enrolled there."
Nathu vividly remembers the day when his father had to borrow money from a local lender to pay his fees at the academy, even though it was subsidized. "I had to pay an annual fee of Rs 10,000 but even that was a huge sum for us," Nathu said. "My father borrowed the money and we had to repay it at a monthly interest of two per cent."
That was just one problem solved. There was always the issue of the kit, so crucial in the development of a pace bowler. "The seniors helped me," Nathu recalled. "I would wear shoes that the senior players had stopped using." He also started playing in tennis-ball cricket leagues as a so-called 'professional'. The money earned would go into cricket equipment.
Former Rajasthan Ranji player Anshu Jain, who was a coach at Surana Academy when Nathu first approached them, recalled being impressed by his talent. "Here was a boy who looked like a natural fast bowler," Jain said. "Looking at the family's financial status, we decided to take a nominal amount from him." Nathu followed Jain to Star Academy, where he currently trains.
Friends were bursting firecrackers when TOI caught up with Nathu. He admitted that celebrations would continue deep into the night. And why shouldn't it. After all, this is now a famous rags-to-riches Indian cricket story.
(Source:The Times Of India)
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