Darshan Negalur: The Story of a Young Sidearm Specialist bowling to Indian Cricketers at NCA
For those who pursue cricket as their profession, they treat this sport as their life, the amount of attachment, emotions & love which a player develops for this game becomes paramount. For a normal person, a bat and ball would just be a “cricket product” but for a professional aspiring cricketer, the bat and ball becomes their life partners and tools for life, it’s their weapon to succeed and survive in this sport.
And when you are at your peak cricketing age between 18 to 24, it’s the most difficult and heart wrenching decision as a cricketer to give up on the sport and stop playing. 19yr old Darshan Negalur from Karantaka is one such boy who took the brave decision of not pursuing cricket as a cricketer but smartly made a move as a sidearm specialist. This decision helped him stay “involved in the game” despite being “not in the game”
Darshan started his cricket career at the age of 12 in Hubli Cricket Academy, from there on he went on to represent at Zone Level while he also played 1st and 2nd Division cricket for HCA Club. However, Darshan knew that competition being intense, the call of the time would be to make a creative jump while at the same time stay connected to cricket.
This is how the story goes….Darshan speaking with Cricketgraph shared-
“Talking about my sidearm profession, when I used to play professional cricket me and my friends used to practice so that he would bowl sidearm to me & in return I used to bowl sidearm to him. Whenever we would do such practice, my friend would often tell me that I am giving seriously quick throwdowns & at that time I had no idea about making it big as a sidearm specialist”
“I was bowling regularly in my club and once I had a chance to bowl in India A nets where I got recognized by none other than Rahul Dravid sir. After that he came to me & asked about my information. I told him that i was a BBA graduate KSCA level O coach. Dravid sir was impressed & told me that we need people like you in NCA & bowling sidearm is a skill & you bowl it very quick”
“After 1 month, i recieved a call from NCA that I was appointed as a throwdown specialist for a commonwealth camp where we had players from different countries who took part in it. After that camp, i was with India team camp for 12 days where i got chance to bowl to Indian players like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shivam Dube, Jadeja, Wridmhan Saha amongst others. Overall it was a great experience being part of National Cricket Academy where in i learnt many things which has helped me a lot now. I have also cleared my level O Coaching Exam and waiting for the results. If my results are cleared then I will be selected for BCCI level “A” exam from KSCA”
The story of Young Darshan who is also the sole earner of his family proves that nothing is impossible and if you manage to think a little out of the box and seize the opportunity at the right time, there is a sea of opportunities waiting for you. From being a Division Cricketer to bowling to Indian Cricketers in the NCA nets and becoming a Level O Coach, Darshan’s case study is certainly an inspiration for many young aspiring cricketers.
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