Rajasthan speedster making hay in city

He is 20-years-old and bowls pretty fast at 143-145kmph. Not just that but he wishes to be the fastest Indian bowler, one who can unnerve the best of batsmen at their own game. Meet Nathu Bharat Singh, the current rage in Team Rajasthan, whose telling impact is winning him new set of admirers in Hyderabad.

Ever since a dream Ranji debut this season, Nathu Singh has been among wickets, including scalping four Services batsmen in the ongoing Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy at RRC Sports Complex. Not one to get cowed down by an injury he sustained during the match against Hyderabad, he came back roaring to send home Yathin Reddy and B Sandeep.

“I wish to bowl as consistently as Glenn McGrath, and maintain good swing, irrespective of the nature of the wicket,” states the youngster. On his strengths, Nathu says “I have a natural swing but I am focusing on length and speed. However, my zest for speed is resulting in delivering wides, one too many.

My immediate priority is in addressing this. My coach is helping me correct this even as I am upgrading variations on my own. I am forever thankful to my captain, Pankaj Singh, who comforts me with timely advices on going about the job and on the need to be self-confident.”

On the Vijay Hazare tournament, where he is being watched by the national selectors, he feels happy that “I have been able to impress them with my performances. Moreover, I have this compelling urge to evolve as a bowler who has his own style.”

Glad at his showing earlier on, chief selector Sandeep Patil named him in the Board President XI against the visiting South African side. He was in good form while turning up for his State team in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup.

However, coming to the spotlight has been earned the hard and tragic way as have many Indian cricketers, Eknath Solkar for instance, in the past.

Although son of a factory labourer in Jaipur, who struggled to make ends meet, given his meagre earnings, Nathu craved to be a fast bowler even in his childhood. His family could never afford the cost of putting him in an academy.

“My father would always postpone my enrollment in the academy. It was only on completion of my tenth standard that my relatives pooled in financial assistance which helped me join Surana Cricket Academy, where my coaches described me as a talented boy” recalls Nathu in an emotion-choked tone, whose travails did not end just there. He had to cycle at least 12 kilometres for his training sessions.

“I am thankful to my teammate Deepak Chahar who gifted me my first pair of spikes,” points out the youngster, who subsequently has come under the wings of Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation and also was with the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy.

For a bowler belonging to the economically deprived strata and living in an obscure dwelling the saga of Nathu Bharat Singh and his determination to script a near rags-to-riches story stands out as an inspiration to all dreamy eyed poorer lot.

By SUBHASH CHANDRA