NEW DELHI: Shubham Gautam hails from Narora, a town located on the banks of the Ganga River in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. Narora is famous for its nuclear power plant, operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).In the NPCIL campus, Ankit Kumar Rajput runs a cricket academy, where he first spotted Shubham Gautam, a fast bowler who earlier this year won the speed hunt organised by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and went on to become one of the most expensive players in the UPT20 League when Noida Kings roped him in for Rs 21.50 lakh.“He has always had this good athletic body. He came to our academy when he was 14, and from that age, you could sense that the boy was different from the others,” Rajput, Gautam’s coach, tells TimesofIndia.com.Rajput says it is not easy for cricketers to break out from Narora, and Shubham has been an anomaly.“It is one of the most backward areas of Uttar Pradesh. Cricket-wise also, you don’t see anyone pursuing the sport once they pass their Class XII boards. Shubham has been different. He has been picked for the UP U-19 camps a couple of times. It was just that he never made the cut, but he was very serious about his cricket. He kept chasing his dream, and now he is living it. For someone from our area to be able to play cricket at the professional level, one needs to be special, and he is,” says a proud coach.
Shubham Gautam with his coach Ankit Kumar Rajput at their academy in Narora, in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh.
Gautam, 21, has not yet set the Uttar Pradesh T20 League on fire. The playing XI combination hasn’t helped, as he has featured in only four games so far, but he has consistently hit the 140 kmph mark in the 12 overs he has bowled in the tournament.
He has always had this good athletic body. He came to our academy when he was 14, and from that age, you could sense that the boy was different from the others.
Ankit Kumar Rajput
But for Gautam, it is not a big deal because he has always had to wait for his chances.“I played district cricket but never played for Uttar Pradesh at the age-group level. I used to play tennis-ball cricket, and I started playing with a leather ball in 2017. Every year, I used to reach the final round in the trials, but this time I put in more effort. That helped me get this opportunity,” he narrates his journey to this website.“My father is a farmer, and farming these days is not easy. But he always supported my dream, and I guess being the youngest among the four siblings also helped me,” he says.The windfall at the UPT20 auction has changed the fortunes of Gautam.“I never imagined that I would go for such a big amount at the auction. I was tired and sleeping when the auction was happening, and then I found out about it. To be honest, I was a bit emotional,” says Gautam, who idolises Jofra Archer.
For Gautam, bowling quick and making batters dance to his tunes with his length is something that he cherishes the most.“Jofra Archer is the fast bowler who inspires me the most,” he says.“My strength is my pace, but I have also learnt to hit the right lengths. In UPT20, I have seen that if you miss your length, batters can hit the ball from one place and send it out of the ground from another,” he adds.Recently, it has been a lot of firsts for Gautam.“Before this, I had only played day-night matches in private tournaments. I had never played in a league like this. My focus is on doing well in these matches. If I perform well here, it will help me in the future. My next aim is to play for Uttar Pradesh,” he says.Back in Narora, Ankit Kumar Rajput, who has seen Gautam’s rise from close quarters, says his ward playing in the UP League has increased the number of players at his academy.“Narora has a cricketing hero now,” laughs Rajput.Ankit shares an interesting story about Gautam, which tells a lot about the individual the youngster is.“He never had a phone. The first one he got was two years ago, and that too in a tournament held in Aligarh, where he was the best bowler. He has always been a hustler, and in the future, you will hear a lot about him,” he says.
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