King_Kohli
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2019
- Runs
- 5,754
Cricket did not happen to Priyam Garg by chance. It could never have been. Growing up in a small town near Meerut, in a family of seven with their share of struggles, sport was expected to be just a past-time, a sideshow at the most. For the young member of Garg household, however, it was much more. He feared getting injured by leather balls, had to face his father’s ire for choosing bat over books, travelled 40km daily from his residence in Quila Parikshitgarh to attend training . All of that effort, only to play the game he loved. Nothing came easy to Garg, each time he had to reach for it.
With four ‘paranthas’ packed in a tiffin box, Garg used to leave for six hours of practice every morning and return in the evening. “Holding my kit bag, I waited long hours as the bus timings were erratic. Rest was out of question as I didn’t have the luxury of going back home midway during the training break,” Garg said.
Yet, in the midst of a cricket-filled childhood, it was not all smooth. The financial constraint aside, Garg had to cope with the demise of his mother at an early age.
Garg’s father did odd jobs, like driving a school van and loading goods in trucks, to run his family. “Those tough days gave me the resolve and courage to handle any situation. My father became my role model,” said Garg.
“I could have quit the game after the death of my mother as things weren’t easy for me. It was a really tough time for me and my family, but dad never let us feel her absence,” says Garg, who hit a half-century in his first season with the Uttar Pradesh under-14 side, when he was just 12.
Garg’s journey is yet to hit the crescendo, but it touched an important milestone on Monday when he was named the captain of the India U-19 team for the World Cup in South Africa, starting January 17. His shoulders will have to take the same responsibility that was once carried by the likes of Virat Kohli (2008), Mohd Kaif (2000), Prithvi Shaw (2018), all of whom went on to play for the senior national team.
“We couldn’t afford a television at home, so I used to skip studies to watch Sachin Tendulkar at a nearby ‘paanwala’ shop. That was a routine and I faced my father’s ire on a number of occasions. For him, cricket was not a priority,” Garg said.
His father Naresh is a happy man. “If he comes back with the World Cup, I would be happiest,” Garg’s father says, as his sisters Pooja, Jyoti, Reshu and brother Shivam sits beside him. The Tendulkar reference comes up quite often in Garg’s statements. Just like any other dreamy-eyed cricket-crazy boy in India, the maestro fuelled his dreams without ever meeting him. “Whatever I am today is because of Sachin Tendulkar. Had I not seen him play, I wouldn’t have come this far. I grew up watching him. Before every game, I think of Sachin. That gives me courage and strength to score runs,” said Garg. “Even when I used to play with the tennis ball in local tournaments, I always tried to copy Sachin Paa ji’s strokes.”
Growing up in a small town like Parikshitgarh threw its own sets of challenges. The Victoria Park Ground where many budding cricketers from Meerut, including Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, took baby steps to bigger stage was 20km from Garg’s hometown.
By the time the top domestic competition ended, Garg had amassed 814 runs in 10 matches. It was second highest tally for Uttar Pradesh in the 2018-19 season, where they entered the quarter-finals. In 12 first-class matches so far, Garg has 867 runs, with two centuries, at an amazing average of 66.69. His highest score is 206. In 15 List A matches, Garg has 539 runs with one century. For a prolific batsman like Garg, he started out as a fast bowler. But coaches Ashwani Sharma and Sanjay Rastogi advised him to pay more attention on batting.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...eather-ball/story-gSyR8BPjUeQu87uRWgePYI.html
With four ‘paranthas’ packed in a tiffin box, Garg used to leave for six hours of practice every morning and return in the evening. “Holding my kit bag, I waited long hours as the bus timings were erratic. Rest was out of question as I didn’t have the luxury of going back home midway during the training break,” Garg said.
Yet, in the midst of a cricket-filled childhood, it was not all smooth. The financial constraint aside, Garg had to cope with the demise of his mother at an early age.
Garg’s father did odd jobs, like driving a school van and loading goods in trucks, to run his family. “Those tough days gave me the resolve and courage to handle any situation. My father became my role model,” said Garg.
“I could have quit the game after the death of my mother as things weren’t easy for me. It was a really tough time for me and my family, but dad never let us feel her absence,” says Garg, who hit a half-century in his first season with the Uttar Pradesh under-14 side, when he was just 12.
Garg’s journey is yet to hit the crescendo, but it touched an important milestone on Monday when he was named the captain of the India U-19 team for the World Cup in South Africa, starting January 17. His shoulders will have to take the same responsibility that was once carried by the likes of Virat Kohli (2008), Mohd Kaif (2000), Prithvi Shaw (2018), all of whom went on to play for the senior national team.
“We couldn’t afford a television at home, so I used to skip studies to watch Sachin Tendulkar at a nearby ‘paanwala’ shop. That was a routine and I faced my father’s ire on a number of occasions. For him, cricket was not a priority,” Garg said.
His father Naresh is a happy man. “If he comes back with the World Cup, I would be happiest,” Garg’s father says, as his sisters Pooja, Jyoti, Reshu and brother Shivam sits beside him. The Tendulkar reference comes up quite often in Garg’s statements. Just like any other dreamy-eyed cricket-crazy boy in India, the maestro fuelled his dreams without ever meeting him. “Whatever I am today is because of Sachin Tendulkar. Had I not seen him play, I wouldn’t have come this far. I grew up watching him. Before every game, I think of Sachin. That gives me courage and strength to score runs,” said Garg. “Even when I used to play with the tennis ball in local tournaments, I always tried to copy Sachin Paa ji’s strokes.”
Growing up in a small town like Parikshitgarh threw its own sets of challenges. The Victoria Park Ground where many budding cricketers from Meerut, including Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, took baby steps to bigger stage was 20km from Garg’s hometown.
By the time the top domestic competition ended, Garg had amassed 814 runs in 10 matches. It was second highest tally for Uttar Pradesh in the 2018-19 season, where they entered the quarter-finals. In 12 first-class matches so far, Garg has 867 runs, with two centuries, at an amazing average of 66.69. His highest score is 206. In 15 List A matches, Garg has 539 runs with one century. For a prolific batsman like Garg, he started out as a fast bowler. But coaches Ashwani Sharma and Sanjay Rastogi advised him to pay more attention on batting.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...eather-ball/story-gSyR8BPjUeQu87uRWgePYI.html
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