UP-born, Kolkata-made: Md Shami’s cricket journey

New Delhi: Badruddin Siddiqui has always believed that moving to Kolkata was pre-destined as far as his favourite student, Mohammed Shami, is concerned.

Born in UP’s small town of Sahaspur in Amroha, it was Uttar Pradesh cricket’s loss that became Bengal’s gain when the childhood coach decided to make a few phone calls in Kolkata after his ward was ignored for U-19 state team selection.

Creating artwork with his malleable wrists and making the SG, Dukes and Kookaburra red ball talk with perfect seam presentation, the pronounced backspin became his calling card.

“I thought they would pick him for Tests. He did everything that was asked of him. Yesterday, when he called up, I didn’t expect he would tell me that “Sir, main Test chodh raha hoon (Sir, I am retiring from Tests),” Badruddin, or Badar bhai, as he is known in UP coaching circles, told PTI as memories kept flooding back.

“I am happy that Shami is still playing white ball for Bengal, and he will be playing in the next IPL. Woh chodh ne wala banda nahi hai. Khelega toh 200 per cent dega. That he will still play white ball for Bengal is the team’s gain. I still feel good that I made a call to my friend and Kolkata-based coach Abdul Monayem two decades back,” Badar bhai recalled fondly.

Town Club, ‘Debu da‘ and Mutton Biryani

Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) first division league is a robust one, and one of the smaller clubs that always punches above its weight is Town Club, for which Swami Vivekananda had once played in the 1880s.

Club’s owner and former CAB secretary Debabrata Das, popularly known as Debu Da, was on the lookout for a bowler when a Maidan scout named Suman Chakraborty called him up one day.

“Debu da, there is a boy called Shami Ahmed (back then he was known by that name) who has joined Dalhousie Athletic Club. He is raw and quick; you haven’t seen anything like that in Kolkata Maidans. Would you like to take him?” Chakraborty asked Debu Da.

In his own words, once he saw Shami, he was convinced that he is made for bigger things.

“I immediately called up his father and told him that I want to sign him up for my club. I remember the amount for the whole season – Rs 70,000. Also, Rs 100 each day for his lunch and dinner he used to have at my place. He became a part of my family and a friend of my son. His brother Kaif (current Bengal pacer) also stayed with us,” said Das, who is a businessman.

A father-son relationship

His relationship with Shami was more like father-son.

“He loved mutton biryani, and his innocence would floor you. There was one league match some 20 years back. The opposition team needed fewer than 50 runs on a placid Kolkata Maidan club track where the ball never got above knee-roll.

“I told Shami, ‘Kuchh kar, match haar rahein hain.’ Shami looked at me and said, “Debu da biryani khilaoge?’ I said, ‘Tu match jeeta ke toh dikha.’ Next thing I knew, the ball started reversing, and we won the game,” Das still laughs.

He still feels hurt how some of the senior Bengal officials and erstwhile selectors were not convinced about picking him.

“He always had a pain in his heel even when he used to play for Bengal U-22 (back then it wasn’t U-23). He was getting four or five wickets every game, and yet they wouldn’t select him for the Ranji Trophy,” Das recalled.

“I literally fell on one of the senior selection committee chairman’s feet; please take him. He is an asset, and his reply was, ‘Why are you bringing up the name of a UP boy? I was so angry. Arrey, will you confine Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar or MF Hussain to any particular state’?” he said, and one could still gauge the hurt and anger in Debu da’s voice.

Talking about Shami’s humility, Das remembers when he first made it to the Bengal Ranji squad back in 2010; he was sitting inside Town Club’s tent that very day.

“I asked, ‘What happened? You are still here?’ He just asked, ‘Debu da, can you lend me Rs 2,000? ‘ I asked, ‘Why?’ ‘Bengal team mein chance mila hai, ladkon ko Biryani ka treat ka wada kiya hai. (Since I have been selected for Bengal, and I have promised club mates to treat them to Biryani).”

Das remembered how he helped Shami buy his first house in Kolkata.

“I helped him with property papers and registration. When I became the manager of the Indian team a few years back and went to England, Shami was already a superstar, but the way he met me, it felt as if I was meeting my son,” Das said.

Shami, the loyal one

Abdul Monayem, a former fast bowler who had basically convinced Shami and his childhood coach, Badar bhai to switch to Mohun Bagan, spoke about his loyalty.

“He wasn’t ready to leave Town Club. At that time, former BCCI vice-president Chitrak Mitra wanted a good fast bowler for Mohun Bagan who could win them trophies. Badar bhai had told me about Shami and I had watched him bounce batters on benign tracks.

“Shami wasn’t ready to leave the Town as they took care of him when he had started off. But we had to convince him that playing for a big club would enhance his first-class prospects.”

“Shami is mostly self-coached. Obviously, he learnt a lot as he played international cricket, but on those lifeless Kolkata Maidan tracks, the Town Club ground, Customs or Taltala ground, where he honed his skills for years, it made him a very skilful operator,” Monayem believes.

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