Malad-based leg-spinner Pushpak, who overcame financial hardship and multiple selection disappointments before finally breaking into India U-19 team this year, eyes glory at upcoming Australia tour in September
India U-19 spinner Naman Pushpak (left) with his mum Anju at their Malad home. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Try and try until you succeed. The saying holds perfectly for young cricketer Naman Pushpak, who failed to make it through the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) U-14, U-16 and U-19 summer camps until a few years ago, before finally being selected at last year’s U-19 camp at the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana in Kandivli. Teenaged Pushpak hasn’t looked back since.
Within a year, he broke into the Mumbai U-19 team and a few months later, the India U-19 side and went on to tour England in June-July.
There, he claimed six scalps in three one-day matches against the England U-19 team, and finished with a match-haul of five wickets in a Youth Test against England at Chelmsford. The performance has earned him a spot on the India U-19 tour to Australia, starting on September 21 at Norths.
Small home, big dreams
Life hasn’t been easy for Pushpak, who lives with his elder brother Devesh, 21, dad Devendra and mum Anju, in a small (180 square feet) one-room kitchen MHADA flat in Malad’s New Jankalyan Nagar. The teenager credits his parents, mum in particular, who works as a part-time beautician, for being able to pursue his cricket dream.
“We are not financially sound, but my parents have always been supportive. My mother is a freelance beautician while my father and brother Devesh work in private firms. After COVID-19, my mother told my coach Sachin Patade sir at Oxford Public School [Charkop] that I would be leaving cricket as I couldn’t afford the monthly coaching fee of R3,000, but he insisted I play and waived off the fees for the next two years,” Pushpak told mid-day at his home recently, as he tried shifting his cricket kits that occupy almost half the space of their drawing room to ensure his mother sat beside him during this interaction.
“I cried bitterly each time I didn’t get selected at the MCA camps, but my mother, my pillar of strength, insisted that I keep working hard.
Finally, when I got picked at the U-19 summer camp last year [he was the highest wicket-taker at the summer camp tournament with 32 scalps] by coaches Dinesh Rao sir and Kiran Desai sir, she knew that my hard work had paid off,” added Pushpak, who went on to pick 18 wickets for the Mumbai U-19 team at the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and 32 wickets in U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, which paved his path to the India U-19 side.
Mum Anju wants Pushpak to forget about his tough past and focus on his bright future ahead: “I think Naman was motivated by my struggles. We both cried [tears of joy] when he was picked for the India U-19 tour to England. My elder son also used to play cricket, but gave up when he didn’t make it to the Mumbai U-16 team. I was determined that Naman won’t give up. I’m glad he didn’t.
‘Warne is my inspiration’
Pushpak is now aiming for glory in Australia. “I’ve been working on my bowling at the All Heart Cricket Academy in Bhandup under [former Team India assistant coach] Abhishek [Nayar] sir and [ex-Mumbai pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr] Ballu sir. [Late Australian leg-spin legend] Shane Warne sir is my inspiration. I even changed my bowling grip a bit after watching his videos.
It’s not that I want to be like him, I just want to bowl well, take wickets and win matches for my country,” concluded Pushpak, a First Year Commerce student at Anandibai Damodar Vidyalaya, Kandivli.
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