For Jagdish Suthar, the proudest moment of his son’s cricketing journey came on Saturday when he watched Manav receive his maiden India Test cap. What followed on Sunday was a performance every parent would have wanted to witness from the stands, but nerves and superstition got the better of the family.
Jagdish Suthar, a retired Physical Education teacher from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, had travelled to Mullanpur with his wife and daughter Mansi to watch Manav make his Test debut for India against Afghanistan. However, the family returned home before the start of play on the second day and missed the left-arm spinner’s impressive spell of 3 for 21 in 15.5 overs.
IND vs AFG Highlights: One-off Test Day 2
“Yes, me, my wife and my daughter Mansi (Manav’s younger sister) had come to watch his debut. I can’t describe how it felt seeing him get the Test cap yesterday. However today we had come back home as we were all nervous and a bit superstitious watching him live in action from the stadium,” Jagdish Suthar told PTI on the second day of the Test.
As Manav troubled the Afghanistan batters and picked up three wickets on debut, his father preferred to stay away from any personal credit for his son’s success.
“It is completely Manav’s hard work and the hours that he has put into practice. He would leave home for training in the morning and return late in the evening. It is his credit and his childhood coach Dheeraj Sharma to whom we are all indebted. Manav learnt all his cricket under him,” Suthar senior said.
Jagdish said there was never a single moment when he realised his son was destined for bigger things. Instead, it was a passion that developed naturally from a young age.
“Like every other child, he was also passionate about cricket. He would play with tennis and rubber ball when he was around six to seven years old. Since I was a PT teacher, I always encouraged my son to play the sport and enjoy. When he was around 10 to 11 years old, I had enrolled him in Dheeraj sir’s academy. After that I just told him, ‘Tujhe jo accha lage, tu kar, mera support humesha tere saath rahega’ (Whatever you feel like pursuing, do it and I will give you my full support),” Jagdish added.
When asked whether he was ever worried about balancing cricket with academics, the father replied in the negative.
“Cricket was his focus but he has also completed his graduation,” he informed.
Despite spending most of the year around the game, Manav rarely discusses cricket when he is at home, according to his father.
“When he is at home, we hardly have conversations on cricket. He doesn’t speak much. Yes, we know that he is a big fan of Ravichandran Ashwin and the way he had dominated world cricket during his time,” he concluded.
– Ends
