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Pranav Dhanawade eyes great Indian cricket dream on his own
Pranav Dhanawade saw his life change overnight when he slammed a record-breaking 1,009 runs in an U-16 inter-school cricket tournament game in Mumbai in January 2016. However, the dream quickly turned sour for the young man.
For Pranav Dhanawade, the son of an auto driver, life changed when he slammed a record-breaking 1,009 runs in an U-16 inter-school cricket tournament game in Mumbai in January 2016. Pranav’s knock that lasted six hours and 36 minutes and featured 129 fours and 59 sixes made him the first batsman in the world to go past 1000 runs in an innings of a recognised cricket match.
The innings turned Pranav into an overnight star with people comparing him to Sachin Tendulkar, who had also shot into limelight in a school game in 1988. Soon, many awards came his way with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) announcing a monthly scholarship of Rs 10,000 for the youngster. He also earned a contract with Air India.
However, nearly two years after that knock, Pranav’s cricketing career is on the wane. The early taste of public attention clearly took a toll on the 17-year old as he failed to live up to the expectations. In the last few months, he stopped scoring well even in club cricket and began to be ridiculed in the Mumbai cricket circle. He also lost his Air India contract.
With his cricket career going nowhere, Pranav’s family has decided to ask the MCA to stop his fellowship as they don’t want the boy to come under public scrutiny anymore.
“It was taking a toll on him. This media attention is not good at such a young age. His father and I decided to write to the MCA and ask them to stop his scholarship so that he is spared public scrutiny. If he keeps failing despite getting scholarship, people will make his life hell by subjecting him to constant ridicule. At least now, he can chart his own path without any support from anyone,” said Pranav’s coach, Mobin Shaikh who runs Modern Cricket Club in the Kalyan region of Mumbai.
Mobin, who has trained Pranav since he was five, also believes that it would have been better if the MCA had taken the youngster under its wing or provided him the best cricket facilities instead of giving scholarship. “At such a young age, you can’t decide what you can do with money. Besides, facilities are not good in this area. It would have been better if the MCA had sent him somewhere for special training or ensured he received the best facility for honing his skills here,” he said.
Pranav’s father, Prashant, said, “I want my son to do well in life without any pressure. Had he not succeeded with the scholarship, people would have taunted him. From now on, he is on his own. Whatever happens from here on, he can keep his head high,” said Prashant.
Pranav is also happy with the decision to give up the scholarship as he believes he can start from scratch now. “I feel relaxed now. I scored 85 a day ago for my club and felt very well. I want to achieve things on my own. Since I am primarily a wicketkeeper, I am concentrating to excel in it along with batting now,” said the youngster, who sees Ajinkya Rahane and Sachin Tendulkar as his role models.
His struggle aside, Pranav deserves appreciation for living his dream. When he first took to cricket, his family had financial crunch but his success has ensured some amount of financial stability. Today, his father has his own auto while his mother runs a catering business. Whether Pranav makes it big in cricket or not, he can always take pride in his contribution towards his family.
