Milkman's son scaling new heights: The inspiring story of Ranchi's Pankaj Yadav

Not every successful person is born with a silver spoon. Former India president, the late APJ Abdul Kalam, was the son of a fisherman; Indian wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni is the son of a plumber, Indian Archery champion Deepika Kumari is the daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver. Success stories can be written from the unlikeliest of places.

In spite of the struggles, these heroes rose to stardom through their hard work and determination. Success doesn't know who you are and where you hail from; the only thing that can get you there is your dedication towards what you do. And the above-mentioned personalities, along with a lot of other names, have managed to achieve success thanks to these qualities.

Mohammed Siraj, a fast bowler from Hyderabad, recently made his international debut for the Indian team against New Zealand. He was very emotional when he received his national cap and when the national anthem was played in the background; those 52 seconds would have taken him to the place where it all started.

Siraj, whose father is an auto driver, faced a lot of financial hurdles during his childhood. But he skipped past them and established himself as one of the best pacers in the country.

The Indian Cricket team is set to witness yet another journey of a cricketer who turned a humble background into a recipe for stardom. But this time, the script is a little different as the player in the spotlight is from the Indian under-19 team and not the senior team.

When the Indian squad for the 2018 under-19 World Cup was announced, two questions were going through the minds of the fans who keenly follow age-group cricket in India. Firstly, why was leg-spinner Rahul Chahar not included in the 15-member squad led by Prithvi Shaw in spite of the fact that he played for Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2017 IPL and did well for the Indian colts in England?

Secondly, who is this Pankaj Yadav, the boy that has been named in the Indian side for the extravaganza? Did the selectors make a blunder by naming Pankaj in the squad? Even Google doesn't know who he is.

Who on earth is Pankaj Yadav?

Pankaj Yadav is a 15-year-old leg-spinner from Jharkhand who made headlines in the 2016-17 Vijay Merchant Trophy for Under-16 players.

Earlier this year, in a Vijay Merchant Trophy tie against Bengal in Bokaro, Pankaj picked up 4/62 in the first innings. And in the second innings, he ran through the Bengal batting line-up and to end up with figures of 7/40, bundling up the opposition for just 100. Unfortunately for him, his side lost the match by 50 runs. But his performances were noted by the Indian junior selectors.

In the tournament, he was the lone shining star for Jharkhand as he picked 45 wickets in six matches at an average of 15. He was just 14 back then and even he wouldn't have expected that his life would change in less than 12 months.

Subsequently, he was drafted into the India Green side for the under-19 Challenger Trophy, a tournament that was like a selection trial ahead of the extravaganza. Though Pankaj didn't get to play in the first two matches, he got the nod in the third game and returned with figures of 1/30 in eight overs. In the match after that, he finished his quota of overs and registered figures of 5/57. He ended the tournament with six wickets in two matches at an average of 15 and an economy of less than five.

A few days later, he was named in the Indian team for the World Cup ahead of Rahul Chahar. And the teenager couldn't hide his emotions.

Wants to gift his father a cow

Residing in Kanke on the outskirts of Ranchi, Pankaj's selection in the side brought a lot of joy and excitement to the people in his village, who flooded his house to congratulate him.

"Everyone was very happy back home. A lot of people visited my place to meet me," he told Sportskeeda.

Pankaj with his father Chandra Yadav (extreme right), mother Manjudhevi (extreme left) and sisters Priyanka and Pratibha

Pankaj's father Chandra Yadav is a milkman who moved to Kanke from Panki village of Jharkhand's Naxal-affected district Palamu even before the birth of his son.

After hearing the news of his son's selection, Chandra Yadav was jubilant and admitted that he did not know that such a high-profile cricketer would come from his household. He also revealed that he used to beat Pankaj on the cricket ground in front of everyone whenever he skipped school for cricket (typical father-son relationship in India).

He later admitted that his son's passion towards the sport has given him and his family a new identity and that he is very proud of the 15-year-old.

When asked about his family background, Pankaj said, "My father's a milkman and mother a house-wife in Ranchi itself. They've had to endure a lot of hardships to fulfil my dreams. I have a younger and an elder sister back home too."

He vows to gift his father a cow and help his sisters get married with whatever he earns from cricket.

Introduction to cricket

Pankaj with his coach YN Jha

Pankaj, who is a student of IPS International Public School in Ranchi, started playing cricket as a fast bowler. But then his coach YN Jha, who runs an academy in Ranchi, advised him to take up spin bowling.

He listened to his coach and that paid dividends, which is evident by the fact that he has made it to the Indian under-19 squad for the World Cup within a month of playing in this age-group for the first time.

"I started playing cricket around six years ago. I started my career as a fast bowler but my coach YN Jha advised me to take up spin. It all started from there. After a year of training in my camp, I was selected for my state's under-14 team, then under-16, where I played for three years and then this was the first year in the under-19 circuit and then got selected for the team. I have to work on almost everything, given that I'm still very young. Have to work a lot on my line and length," he said.

Cricketing idols and his encounter with MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is Pankaj's role model

Ask any leg spinner around the world who his idol is, and 99 out of 100 will likely say Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne within seconds. The case is no different with Pankaj as the former Aussie international is his idol.

But for someone hailing from Ranchi, it is difficult to look beyond former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for inspiration. Though Warne is Pankaj's favourite cricketer, he looks up to Dhoni for inspiration and hopes to become like him someday.

"Shane Warne is my idol. But MS Dhoni gives me a lot of inspiration as well. He is pretty cool on the field; I've never seen him vent up his frustration on players. I want to read and play the game like him," he said.

After his selection in the Indian team, he met the Indian stumper in Ranchi and the 36-year-old shared some advice with the leggie.

When asked about the message given to him by Dhoni, Pankaj said, "He told me that I should work on my consistency; if I'm landing three-four balls on the spot, I should work on making it five, then all six."

Under-19 World Cup and future dreams

With Pankaj playing under-19 cricket for the first time last month, not many of his teammates from the World Cup squad would have known a lot about him. But Pankaj has managed to change that quickly.

He said, "Most of the team members are here and I'm familiar with all of them. We have played together in the Challenger Trophy."

All the under-19 cricketers consider themselves fortunate to have a coach like Rahul Dravid; the legendary batsman is the man behind the successful careers of many upcoming players in India.

Pankaj, who is currently in Bengaluru where he is attending the training camp for the members of the Indian side before they fly to New Zealand to play in the tournament, has met Dravid but hasn't had any conversation with his coach. However, he is very eager to learn from the former India batsman when he meets him over the course of the next couple of months.

Playing under-16 cricket as a 14-year-old earlier this year and getting selected to represent India in the under-19 World Cup in the same year, the last few months have been ground-breaking for Pankaj.

If he continues to maintain his consistency, show dedication and put in hard work whenever he takes the field, his dream of playing for the Indian national team will become a reality one day.

As of now, Pankaj Yadav, the son of a milkman in Ranchi, is ready to spin a web around batsmen in the under-19 World Cup.

Additional inputs by Sankalp Srivastava