Kolkata membership coach Partha Pratim Chowdhury has witnessed a whole lot of cricketers with dreamy eyes flocking the Maidans however by no means a younger man with engineering books accompanying his cricket kits till Shahbaz Ahmed checked in.
It was a little bit of a novelty even for the middle-aged Chowdhury, related to Kolkata’s first division membership Tapan Memorial.
Then 21 and pursuing a civil engineering diploma from a personal college, the participant from Mewat is now a battle-hardened home bulwark displaying his wares on the massive stage.
Shahbaz, one of many pillars of the Bengal Ranji Trophy aspect, can be an integral a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore and has proven his prowess as a batter with two game-changing knocks, in opposition to KKR and Rajasthan Royals, within the ongoing IPL season.
“Yes, that is my third season and there was a whole lot of time taking part in at this place, so now could be the time to ship,” Shahbaz said at the post-match press conference on Tuesday night.
“Today the situation was tougher because at one time, the momentum was towards RR (Rajasthan Royals), and the way DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) shifted the momentum towards us, I felt easy to play with him at that time. And with the same momentum, we could pull off the match (in our favour),” the 27-year-old stated.
His success story was preceded by days of wrestle as one toiled on the onerous membership grounds with some bald patches of grass for consolation.
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Kolkata’s membership cricket has at all times been one of the sturdy within the nation however when it got here to dominance, Tapan Memorial wasn’t thought-about amongst cricketing royalty within the ‘City of Joy’.
“We are a really small membership in contrast to Mohun Bagan, East Bengal or Kalighat who can afford massive bucks. Often we ask our senior cricketers to take a look at for outstation boys in search of alternatives.
“One of our boys Pramod Chandila (former Bengal and present Haryana participant) acquired Shahbaz right here. He was then in third yr of engineering, I feel. When he had semesters, he would skip a couple of video games,” Chowdhury recalled his association with Shahbaz.
In fact, when he is in the city now, Shahbaz stays with Chowdhury’s family in central Kolkata’s Entally area.
“I have two sons and Shahbaz is my third son. He is now an integral part of my family. I think since he turned professional, he has hardly gone home. You all have seen that he has talent to own the big stage but not only field, he has a big heart off it too,” Chowdhury stated.
What amazed Chowdhury probably the most was Shahbaz’s capability to take care of his form whereas hitting half a dozen sixes in two video games.
“He lately went to NCA and I feel he was one of many fittest boys. You know, he’s probably the most frugal eater I’ve seen. At instances, he received’t actually have a third roti. I nonetheless can’t determine how he generates such energy.
“By the way in which, he could also be from Haryana however is now used to correct Bengali delicacies at our residence,” he stated.
When Shahbaz was asked last night about his role, he maintained that it was about playing second fiddle to Dinesh Karthik.
“My role is according to the situation, like we lost two-three wickets (early). But when DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) came, I did not have to think much and had to play with him. The way he shifted the momentum towards us, it became easy for me to play with him.
“He (Karthik) is very experienced and he told me how to play, can take on which bowler and that was very helpful. And so I could perform well,” he added.
For Bengal, he has been a specialist spinner, however Shahbaz stated that RCB needs to make use of him extra as a middle-order batter, who would additionally sometimes bowl.
“It is determined by the scenario, a whole lot of groups have left-handers, so the captain provides the ball to leg-spinners. I hope that within the coming time, I’ll get to bowl extra,” he said when pointed out that he hasn’t yet bowled for his team.
Anyone who thinks that his batting is fluke, Shahbaz has two List A hundreds for Bengal, apart from six first-class half tons.
In his initial days in Kolkata club cricket, Shahbaz played seven games and scored six hundreds and a bagful of wickets. There was no looking back since.
“He is a cerebral cricketer. Geometry is his favourite subject. May be the precision and the understanding of finding the right gap and angles comes from that. He would always be eager to talk about cricket, soak in as much as possible,” coach Chowdhury stated.
He has now performed his third season in IPL and Chowdhury hasn’t seen any change in him even after rubbing shoulders with superstars like Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers.
“You know I had no clue that when certainly one of our membership’s groundsman (maalis as they name in membership circuit) Niranjan handed away, Shahbaz didn’t inform anybody and straight despatched cash to his household.
“Recently, I used to be stunned that he purchased a automotive saved it in entrance of my home. I informed him that since you’re at all times on the street, take it again to Mewat and present it to your mother and father. He stated, Partha da, you need to drive to workplace,” the coach got a touch emotional.
“I completely give credit to his parents. He is an extremely well brought-up boy. His sister is a medical student, his grand father was a headmaster. He has got a very balanced approach to life.”
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