Growing up around dining table discussions that involve cricket, Saud Mansoori was a revelation when he turned out for the 2017-18 edition of the Harris Shield cricket tournament. The left-arm spinner proved to be a terror for his opposition as he picked up 45 wickets in nine matches of the competition. But it was just four years ago that he switched to cricket from football.
Until four years ago, Saud was never much into cricket. In fact, he was a popular face in local football tournaments in Mulund, reveals his father, Saeed Mansoori. “One day, after a football match, Saud came crying to me and told me that football was getting too tiring for him. I asked him what he wanted to do, and then he said he wants to play cricket like his elder brother,” recalls his father, as he refreshes Saud’s cricketing achievements in his mind.
The 15-year old travels one and a half hours everyday from his house in Mulund to his school, Al-Barkaat in Kurla, biding his time reading cricket books. His school team lifted the trophy on Wednesday, where he had magical figures of five for 54 against Swami Vivekananda School in the final. “My coach told me to not be under any sort of pressure. He said that it is a big game and if I try to do extra, it might backfire,” said the spinner after the match.
Saeed treated his son’s decision to switch to cricket as a childish impulse and asked him to take a day or two to decide. But the obstinate Saud stuck to decision of pursuing cricket, even though his father was not fully convinced. “He was stubborn, so I took him to all the grounds in the city where people practice cricket to show him how many players want to pursue the game in Mumbai and how hard it is to break into the sport suddenly,” he said.
Saud’s cricket journey began with him playing with his elder brother with coloured plastic balls, like every middle-class Indian kid before escalating to this level. Soon his elder brother realised Saud’s talent and ensured that he joined Excel Cricket Academy in Mulund. His coach Vishal Jain, who still trains Saud, focussed on playing him as a bowler because of his being left-handed.
One of the many disadvantages about Mumbai is the distances one has to travel. The left-arm spinner leaves his house early in the morning to find a less-crowded train for school and returns in the night after his cricket practice. By the time he is home, he is worn out and the same drill continues every day. However, Saud wakes up every morning with the same zeal, which reflects in his performances.“He picked up the bat and ball pretty late and we knew that it would be tough for him to play in the big league. But I have seen him work hard over the years,” expresses his father, teary-eyed.
Saud, who turns 16 in February, is one the few players who bowls to Mumbai’s Ranji batsmen in the nets prior to the matches, discloses his father. While he plays as a bowler for Al-Barkaat, he turns out as a batsman for Canara Vijaya Bank in the ‘E’ division of the Kanga League.
With consistent performances, Saud could feature in the Mumbai team in the coming years. “Lambi race ka ghoda hai,” says Saeed, hoping to see his son in the Mumbai kit in the coming years.
