"I hadn’t had any big knocks under my belt" - Bengal's Sudip Gharami happy to repay trust shown by management

Sudip Gharami took a step closer to realising his goal of playing for India when he slammed 186 in the Ranji Trophy 2022 quarter-final against Jharkhand at the Just Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on Monday.

Asked to bat first in the knockout game, Bengal plundered 577/5 at the end of Day 2. Gharami, who came out to bat after opener Abhishek Raman retired hurt, batted 380 deliveries for his 186 to put his team on top.

Gharami hasn't had a great run in the Ranji Trophy this season, scoring only 75 runs in six innings. However, former Indian player and current coach of Bengal, Arun Lal, had trust in the youngster's ability.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Sudip Gharami said that he's happy to live up to the expectations of the management. The 23-year-old said:

"Thank you, first of all. It's a good feeling to play an innings like this. I hadn't had any big knocks under my belt in the last four games. Despite that, the management and the senior cricketers backed me to do well. I'm happy to repay the trust."

Gharami looked at ease against the fast bowlers and used his feet exceptionally well against the spinners, including the experienced Shahbaz Nadeem.

The boy from Naihati, almost 50km from Kolkata, looked assured of his technique and hardly played any rash shots.

Throwing light on how he went about his business, Gharami said:

"I didn't have any specific plans for this game and just wanted to back myself and play to the merits of the ball. Senior cricketers and coaches have also backed me to play my natural game."

The knockouts of the Ranji Trophy began two months after the league stage ended just before IPL 2022.

Sudip Gharami used this period to play club games in the 'Kolkata Maidan' and the CK Nayudu Trophy in preparation for the quarter-finals.

The right-handed batter added:

"Just regular practice. Didn't do anything specific, keeping in mind the Ranji Trophy knockout matches. I performed well in the U25 tournament and in club matches, so I was confident to perform."

Sudip Gharami was the team's highest run-scorer in the recently concluded CK Nayudu Trophy, scoring 414 runs in three games, including two centuries and one fifty.

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"Because of my father, I can live my dream" - Sudip Gharami

The youngster comes from a very humble family, where they used to live in a kacha house.

His father Susanta Gharami, a head carpenter by profession, struggled to make ends meet. They only moved to a new house with the money Gharami earned from winning the U23 tournament.

Susanta often used to take loans from relatives to buy cricket gear for his son. A fan of Sachin Tendulkar, he dreamt of seeing his son play professional cricket.

Like his father, Sudip Gharami also admired Tendulkar and was inspired by the batting maestro to take up the sport. He is happy to fulfill his father's dream and also credited him for his success.

He said:

"I have been a fan of Sachin Tendulkar since childhood. I wanted to play cricket after watching him bat. But playing cricket is not cheap. My father sacrificed a lot. Because of my father, I can live my dream."

Gharami was initially spotted by former India captain Sourav Ganguly when he saw him bat during a U23 game against Mumbai at Eden Gardens. He asked the selectors to keep an eye on Gharami and fast-track him to the senior side.

Sudip Gharami, like Ganguly in 1990, made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2019-20 final against Saurashtra in Rajkot.

Will he follow in Ganguly's footsteps and play for India? Only time will tell, but the youngster has seemingly taken a step in the right direction.