When Kumar Kushagra broke Javed Miandad’s record at the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinals in Kolkata on Sunday, it was not just his father and coach Shashikant who was elated by it. If words could show emotions on their own, then the library of cricket books at his Jamshedpur house would also be as proud as him.
For it was not a coaching centre that instilled the cricketing lessons in a six-year-old Kumar, it was his father’s love for the game and determination in passing on the same to his son that had lent the foundation for his mammoth 266 runs against Nagaland in the domestic encounter. En route that score, the teenager bettered the record held by the Pakistan batting legend by becoming the youngest cricketer to score 250 runs in first-class cricket.
Kumar, aged 17 years and 144 days, while surpassing Miandad’s mark for Karachi Whites in 1975 also broke Ishan Kishan’s feat against Delhi in 2016.
But the journey towards excellence began for the Jharkhand boy long back when his father, who had never played cricket before, dreamt of making his son a cricketer. And, to that end, he bought every book on cricket that he could lay hands on. “I made a library of cricket books at my home that I could learn from. Everything that the greats have written, be it Lewis, Bradman or Waugh, I got it somehow,” Shashikant told the TOI over phone on Sunday.
“I would go and watch people at the nets and try to figure out the techniques and then get back and read what the books had to say about the same. There were at least 60-70 shots and techniques that I made a list of and each day, I would make Kumar practice one of them. I told him where the legs, grip or eyes had to be, to what degree the body had to be inclined,” explained the eager father, who is a district commissioner in the GST department.
His diligence started paying off as Kumar began to make the cut in age-group tournaments with the 2016 Vinoo Mankad Trophy being his first big foray into the competitive game. In 2019, he became the highest age-group run-getter at the same tournament amassing 535 runs in 7 matches and found a place in the Indian squad for the U-19 World Cup.
While he played just one match, against Japan, and scored 14, Kumar says it was a great exposure for the youngster. “It was a great experience. Although I didn’t get to play much, learning under coaches and mentors like Rahul Dravid, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Paras Mhambre sirs helped me learn a lot and improve my game,” Kumar told the TOI.
Asked what helped him to his current feat that included 37 boundaries and two sixes in the 269-ball innings, the 17-year-old said: “Since practice was off for most part of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time and work on my fitness. I think that’s been a boon for me in the longer format of the game.”
