K Shriniwas Rao
In Dalli Rajhara, a mining town 85 km south of Bhilai steel city, there was a send-off given to an 18-year-old boy in a manner hardly
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ever witnessed by the locals, who form the 55,000-odd population in that region.
Harpreet Singh Bhatia, the youngster, whose inclusion in the India's U-19 World Cup team had the non-descript town known to the country for its iron ores, take to cricket with great enthusiasm.
"Please mention the boy's name. He's very talented. We only get the Times of India in our town because officers (at the mines) read it.
"They'll be very happy," pleaded the boy's coach, Suresh Reddy, his high-pitched voice on phone desperately seeking recognition.
While it is another matter that Harpreet is yet another example of cricketers fast emerging from the heart of rural India, it isn't just his hometown address - one that isn't far from the naxal area in the state of Chattisgarh - which deserves a mention.
As a cricketer alone, the boy is marked for the future. "He's a good all-round talent, batting is his main strength but he has also developed as a bowler. Harpreet adds a lot of solidity to the side," says India U-19 coach Chandrakant Pandit, adding how the cricketer is a sure starter in the first XI.
Son of Jaspal Singh Bhatia, a 49-year-old trader who makes his living selling used clothes, Harpreet is the youngest of three children. In April this year, he toured Australia with the U-19 team as vice-captain and that was perhaps the first time Jaspal seriously considered how his son's cricket could catapult him into another world.
Adds Reddy, "It's hard to explain how big an achievement this is for someone from a town as far flung and small as ours. It's almost a mismatch between areas that either make a tribal belt or are naxal-infested."
The BCCI had shortlisted him this year for the MA Chidambaram Award for the best U-19 cricketer.
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