The Ravi Kumar story: "Now entire CRPF battalion has come to know of dad" – From dreaming to fly to giving flight to India's dreams 

“Everybody has their own struggles in life. But those who overcome those struggles and move forward are the real champions.”

Tough to imagine, these are the words of an 18-year-old. A teenager, having tasted fame and success, tends to live life as it comes. But Ravi Kumar hasn’t forgotten his roots, neither is he resting on his laurels. He, in fact, plans to use his journey thus far as a yardstick for further progress.

The left-arm pacer from Aligarh, who plies his trade for Bengal, was a major catalyst in India winning a record fifth Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies last month. The lanky pacer’s ability to move the ball at pace made everyone sit up as he scalped nine wickets in the three knockout games to help the Indian colts go the distance.

After taking just a solitary wicket in the league stage, Ravi was quick to turn things around. After all, for somebody who wanted to be a pilot and picked up a cricket ball as late as 2016, he has always been a quick learner.

The last few months have also followed a similar trajectory. It was in September last year that he was playing for the Kachenjunga Warriors in the Bengal T20 Challenge. Impressed with his new-ball exploits, junior selector Devang Gandhi included him in the Bengal Under-19 squad for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Within the next five months, he was rubbing shoulders with Manoj Tiwary and Co. in the senior Bengal squad, with the junior Asia Cup and World Cup in his kitty.

Major credit for the same should also go to Arvind Bharadwaj, Ravi’s childhood coach, who, by Ravi’s own admission, made him what he is today. While Ravi used to stay at his uncle and aunt’s place in Kolkata and play club cricket at the Maidan, Arvind sir used to frequently come down from Uttar Pradesh just so that his favourite protégé didn’t feel out of place.

While the success achieved in the past few months will chart out Ravi’s cricketing journey, the obstacles endured in the process would determine his character - the green shoots of which have already started emerging.

Be it fending for himself for 25 odd days while dealing with a twisted ankle and a swollen knee, or losing his uncle who had become a father figure at his home away from home – fortunately or unfortunately, Ravi Kumar was faced with multiple adversities very early in life. And he’s come out of them all stronger. No wonder, he wasn’t fazed by the Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian team in the Caribbean.

From his teammates to his family back home, Ravi Kumar enjoys carrying everybody along while giving them a reason to smile. Winning a global title at such a ripe age is an extraordinary feat. But what has got Ravi thrilled to bits is that his achievement is getting his parents much-deserved recognition.

Ravi Kumar’s story is a perfect example of talent, when given proper channel and guidance, doing wonders. It will also teach several kids the need to constantly move on, be it from failures or success.

---

Excerpts from Ravi Kumar's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda

Ravi Kumar poses with the U19 World Cup trophy and winners medal [Credits: Ravi Kumar]

Q. Firstly, many congratulations on winning the World Cup. Has the feeling sunk in yet?

Ravi Kumar: Winning the World Cup was a very special feeling. We wanted to celebrate, but we didn’t have time because we had to finish packing in the evening and leave the next morning. The Indian Commission there had invited us for dinner, so we had gone there. But everything happened very fast, we were mentally exhausted, so we didn’t get much time to think also. We barely slept that night, some didn’t even sleep. Now that we have some time to celebrate, the players and coaches are not together.

Q. What happened at the felicitation ceremony in Ahmedabad?

Ravi Kumar: There were lots of officials. Jay Shah was very happy that the team won the World Cup. Dalmiya sir congratulated everyone and he also spoke to me personally since I represent Bengal. The main idea was to get a small function done, meet everyone, while also watch the match. But the boys were so tired that everyone stayed for about an hour after lunch – we couldn’t even watch the match properly. Some of us had a flight to catch in the evening, while others went to the hotel to sleep.

Q. There was a gap of two days between the semi-final and the final. Did you guys do anything different at the time? What did Virat Kohli and the support staff say?

Ravi Kumar: Those two days were very important, because it is such a time when players tend to think more. Our sirs had fixed a meeting with Virat bhaiya, where everybody interacted with him. He told us to play normal cricket and play to our strengths. He was sharing his experience, where he spoke about the mindset of playing each game as a final. So that was of great help. They had also organised the screening of ’83 movie – everyone watched it the night before and drew motivation from it.

Q. Not taking the pressure of a final is easier said than done. Could you sleep properly on February 4 night?

Ravi Kumar: I got decent sleep at night. After waking up in the morning, I didn’t think that it’s the final and kept myself busy until going onto the ground. All of us went into the final thinking that the worst thing that could happen was we would lose. We just wanted to stick to our strengths and not do anything extra.

Q. When the trophy finally came to hand, what was going through your mind?

Ravi Kumar: I never thought I would play for India at an Under-19 World Cup. So it was like a dream come true, the mind was blank, I was simply saying whatever came to heart.

Q. You took one wicket in the league stage, although it was a walk in the park in the Ireland and Uganda games. But did your confidence skyrocket after that five-over spell against Bangladesh in the quarter-final?

Ravi Kumar: If a bowler takes just a single wicket in three matches, the confidence obviously remains low. But I was kind of confident of having bowled well – though I didn’t get wickets, I knew I helped the team with economical bowling. My mindset was such that, the bowling has to look impressive irrespective of whether wickets come or not. And that quarter-final against Bangladesh was a very important match, because we had lost in the finals to them the last time and they also beat us in all the matches in the tri-series before the World Cup. And just like in the first three games, my plan was to bowl in the right areas because that indeed leads to wickets. And I did exactly that, but I was particularly happy because I gave the team the breakthrough and built that pressure. And when one bowler takes a good wicket, the energy rubs off on others as well. So the other bowlers also got aggressive and bowled well.

Q. You won Man of the Match in that quarter-final. Did that make you feel capable of international cricket?

Ravi Kumar: This cricket is a team game – 11 players do well for one of them to get Man of the Match. I won in that game, my teammates won in other matches but it was not like I didn’t have any contribution in those games. So yeah, I was happy but it happened only because everyone performed well. I was really happy with the team effort, there was great unity in our team.

Q. Talking about breakthroughs, you sent an opener back in your first over in all the three knockout games. What do you consider your strength?

Ravi Kumar: My strength is swing bowling. If you can’t swing a new ball, then what’s the point? So my mindset was to get a breakthrough in the very first over which will give us that energy and momentum. And I did exactly that.

Q. How do you rate Yash Dhull’s captaincy? Because when everyone is of the same age, is the captain still the most important figure or does everyone give inputs?

Ravi Kumar: Even though all were of the same age, the leader was Yash Dhull. But he was our captain just on the ground, and our friend off it. All of us were great friends. But every time we stepped onto the field, he [Yash] used to have the final say. He is a very positive guy, keeps the energy running. If you bowl well, he will support you. And otherwise, he’ll be like, ‘kya raha hai hain?’; but he was very supportive and knew how to handle the team.

Q. You have a very aggressive celebration. Do you have any reason behind it?

Ravi Kumar: Everyone gets that adrenaline rush after getting a wicket, but everyone has their own way of expressing that excitement. So my style is to do different types of celebrations – there’s nothing fixed, I do whatever comes to mind. But that celebration which I did after getting my first wicket against Bangladesh, is something I did a few times in the Vinoo Mandad Trophy as well. I only do that when I feel I’ve taken a very important wicket.

Ravi Kumar returned 4 for 34 in the final which India beat England by 4 wickets [Credits: ICC]

Q. One quality of the side which oozed out was strength of character – from barely having players to getting crowned world champions. Please elaborate on the time of the Covid-19 outbreak in the camp?

Ravi Kumar: It was very a tough time for us, because we didn’t have all the players. We didn’t even have anyone to give us water, our sirs [coaches and support staff] carried drinks onto the field. Even our manager was in a different country – he was in Trinidad while we were in Antigua – and he was managing everything from there through calls. But the way we handled everything was great; everyone praised us for that. It taught us how to change mindsets. For example, a reserve batter suddenly got to know that he’d play and had to prepare immediately. We have to get our minds set the night before; if I am not playing tomorrow, that focus will be missing for sure. So the way all the players – who were sitting out until then – came in and performed was outstanding. It only goes to show we have some very mature and great players. Team unity was the main reason we won. We had been away for a while and we used to miss home, but the homely atmosphere in the team kept all those emotions away. It was like one big family; we used to spend time with VVS sir and it didn’t for once feel like a legend was amongst us.

Q. But when you guys initially got to know that six players have tested positive, was there any worry in the camp?

Ravi Kumar: Three players were already positive, but then three more – captain, vice-captain, wicketkeeper – who played the first match tested positive. We didn’t have any clue about it; we were doing our warm-ups and we saw Nishant Sindhu going for the toss. Our first reaction was, maybe Dhull is busy with some work and hence sent him for the toss. We went inside, changed into match clothes, assembled on the ground, and then got to know that more players have tested positive and this is the team that will play. We were all shocked. But since we were already on the field, the focus was on the match and we didn’t get much time to think. It was only after the match that we phoned the rest of the guys and we realised how big a crisis it was.

Q. Everyone was labelling your bowling partner Rajvardhan Hangargekar as the fastest bowler in the tournament. But you were also hitting the 135 kmph mark pretty easily. Did you guys ever compete with each other during training?

Ravi Kumar: Like I said, we were a family and a family never competes amongst themselves. Everyone has different qualities – I don’t have what he has and he doesn’t have what I possess. So it’s important to pride in your strengths and take those forward.

Q. How was the bonding with him? What was the talk between you two while bowling in tandem?

Ravi Kumar: He has become a very good friend of mine. While coming back from the World Cup, he was like, ‘bhai, bohot miss karunga tere ko’. So our bond was really nice. We used to bowl together and our plans also used to be similar – regardless of who got the wickets, the plannings were the same. Even the coaches asked us to have similar plans.

Q. Back at the hotel, who was the most fun guy to be around? If you could share some interesting anecdotes?

Ravi Kumar: Everyone used to play some prank or the other. There was Rasheed, who knew neither Hindi nor English. We had to make him understand something in Hindi five times, only then he would understand. But he is a very nice and sweet guy; you could tell him anything and yet he wouldn’t mind at all.

Ravi Kumar (L) and Avishek Porel (R) get felicitated by CAB officials after the World Cup return [Credits: CAB]

Q. The Indian team has been searching for a left-arm pacer for quite a few years now. How big a motivation has this been for you?

Ravi Kumar: Whatever the Indian team need, I want to fulfil that and work towards accomplishing that. I have given my 100 percent in whatever I have done till now, and I want to keep doing that going forward. I have to consistently perform well, then only I can come to the notice of the selectors. I know there will be higher quality of batters up at that level, so I want to keep working on my strengths.

Q. Who has been your role model?

Ravi Kumar: To start off, I didn’t want to be a cricketer. I wanted to finish studies and become a pilot or something. And since the time I started taking interest in cricket in 2016, there hasn’t been any role model. I just followed whatever [Arvind] sir asked me to do. He helped me grow interest in the game. For one year, I was playing just for fun. But as selections started coming along the way, my interest also grew. It was then that my professional journey started.

Q. Which cricketer do you follow now?

Ravi Kumar: I love almost all left-arm bowlers – Mitchell Starc, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan. Then there’s Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir. Shaheen Shah Afridi has come recently, but at that time, I knew what my strength was and I picked things up from almost all of them, like aggression, swing etc. But my swing has been given by my coach.

Q. You have tasted a lot of success in junior cricket. But not everyone can make the jump to the senior teams. What have been your learnings so far?

Ravi Kumar: I have realised many things; I have learnt certain things which I had no clue of before. To start off, understanding what I need to work on is a big thing in itself. I have understood what my body needs if I have to go the distance. About my bowling, I have to further work on my strengths. In age-group cricket, there are players of only your age. Now that I have come beyond age-group cricket, I will come against India players, Ranji Trophy players, etc. So I have to change my mindset on the basis of how to get them out. White-ball cricket demands different length and mindset, as compared to red-ball cricket. And a lot of patience is required for red-ball cricket. So I just have to change my planning and all, there’s no issue in technique.

Ravi Kumar took 4 wickets at an economy of 4.5 as part of India's U19 Asia Cup-winning squad at the end of last year [Credits: ICC]

Q. Could you please elaborate on who all have played what role in your career so far?

Ravi Kumar: The first of them all is my father. Everyone’s parents want their children to study and get a good job. But he sacrificed all those dreams and sent me to Arvind sir, hoping I’ll make it big in some way. He was bearing all my expenses, when he hadn’t even seen what I was doing. There was just that blind trust. Second is my sir, Arvind sir. He has taught me everything – whatever I am today is all because of him. And then, all the coaches in Kolkata have supported me throughout. I started at Howrah Union where I played for two years under Shafiq sir and Amitabha sir. Then I went to Ballygunge where again I played under Amitabha sir. In Bengal Under-19, there was Devang [Gandhi] sir and Jayanta [Ghosh Dastidar] sir. Each and every one of them has played some role or the other in my life. All the CAB members have played a part, and particularly [Avishek] Dalmiya sir.

Q. Now that you’ve broken into the Ranji Trophy side, what are your short-term and long-term goals?

Ravi Kumar: My short-term goal is to perform well in the Ranji Trophy. And long-term plan is to become a good bowler across formats. And when such high goals have been set, a mindset also needs to be set accordingly. Like, I have realised the mindset required in white-ball cricket is very different from that of red-ball cricket. So when I have realised all this, it’s important I act on it.

Q. Have you set yourself any deadline to break into the senior Indian team?

Ravi Kumar: Yeah everyone sets such deadlines, but I haven’t kept any timeframe for myself. People need to set deadlines because then they can work accordingly. But for me, it was like I needed just one opportunity to come to Bengal. And I knew that I would make that opportunity count. So I don’t have any deadline, I just want to do well in whatever opportunity I get.

Q. How have your parents reacted to the World Cup win?

Ravi Kumar: I don’t have any sporting background, neither do any of my family members have any idea about sports. But now everyone is extremely emotional and happy. They are feeling very proud, because wherever they’re going, they’re being asked about me. They are being labelled as Ravi Kumar’s mom and dad. This is an extremely proud moment for me, because it rarely happens that your parents are getting recognition because of you. Children get recognised as someone’s son or daughter, but today it’s a huge honour for me that it’s the other way round. My dad is in the army where nobody really knew him, but now the entire CRPF battalion has come to know of him. This achievement for me is bigger than even the World Cup win.

---