Small Town Boys Making It Big

Cricket was called a gentleman’s game, but now it has gone much beyond that while achieving great fan base and popularity around the world. Passion for this game has created a common bond between people with different visions and principles. Big players have been working as role models for small town boys who want to achieve the same platform.

Hailing from small districts, cricketers have reached a long way and this has been an inspiration to many. The Indian coach Greg Chappell once said, “Small towns are where the future champions are going to come from. They won’t be coming from the big metros like they have in the past.” He stressed on the need of recognizing and nurturing young talent which would help India keep pace with the International cricket.

Famous names like Mahendra SinghDhoni and Irfan Pathan come from small cities like Jharkhand and Vadodara which were not considered the traditional cricket areas. There are many more names of the small city boys coming up and Arjun Patel is one of those. His passion for cricket was tremendous and with his growing skills he dreamt of being an inspiration to others.

He had dared to dream big and with his hard work and passion he has finally reached International Cricket. From playing Madhya Pradesh Under-16 Tournament to being the captain of Madhya Pradesh State team, his journey has been amazing. According to the records, he has not let M.P. lose a single match under his captaincy.

Arjun has been showcasing his remarkable talent throughout his cricketing career. Now it will be a question of time when people would find him reaching and achieving his biggest milestones.

So in this era, sitting back and waiting for an ad hoc system to throw up the players you need would be inappropriate. Rather, one should identify and nurture the young talent from small towns and then invest on them to make it big.

 

Arjun’s journey as a cricketer is an inspiration

   

A leader is someone who makes an impact and provides inspiration. Arjun Patel exemplified these qualities.

 

There was once a time when the Indian Cricket Team was simply filled with kids having rich family background. Due to excellent infrastructure and good scope for the game in metros, many small city boys would not succeed defeating them in the C.K. Naidu Trophy. But this man proved it all wrong. Arjun Patel had seen a dream, which many feared to see.

Hailing from a small city of Madhya Pradesh, Patel dared to dream and with courage and guts made that dream a reality. Since a very young age, he used to practice cricket. His hard-work and never-give-up spirit finally landed him in International Cricket.

His tact and balmy persona made a significant impact on the entire team in tense situations like the finals of the Inter Divisional Tournament. His contribution made Jabalpur division become the champions. He stood by his players and gave individual attention and influenced them in a positive way. One can only lead by example and Arjun’s journey as a cricketer and captain is an inspiration.

 The quintessential leader played international matches with Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Starting his      cricketing career by playing in various state level tournaments to representing India in internationals, Arjun has never skipped to astonish his fans by his outstanding performance. There are plenty of great achievements of Arjun Patel that is remembered, some of which are mentioned below.

•   Played and represented as Captain of Vijay Merchant Trophy organized by BCCI and under his captaincy the team won all matches till Madhya Pradesh State Team reached semifinals.

•  Under-14 age group, Arjun represented his team as captain and played Cooch Behar Trophy for consecutively two years organized by BCCI.

•   At the age of 16, he was in Madhya Pradesh under 25-squad of C.K. Naidu Trophy organized by BCCI 2013-14.

•   Played and represented as Captain of Hiralal Gaikwad Trophy organized by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.

 

 “Legacy is not what’s left tomorrow when you are gone, it’s what you give, create, impact and contribute today while you are here that then happens to live on.” Arjun Patel surely seems to believe in this mantra. His unparalleled legacy and character is an inspiration to all.