Sudip Gharami: Son of daily-wage labourer, rejected at district level, shines for Bengal

Sudip Gharami became the talk of the prestigious Indian domestic folklore on Monday as he notched up a brilliant century for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 quarter-finals against Jharkhand at the Just Cricket Academy Ground, Bengaluru. He remained unbeaten on 106 off 204 deliveries along with his top-order batting partner Anustup Majumdar (85 not out) to guide his state team to a strong 310/1 when umpires called it a day on Day 1. His cautious knock was laced with 13 boundaries and one hit over the fence but more than that it was an ode of all his struggles on and off the 24 yards. 

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Sudip Gharami: Son of a daily-wage labourer 

The initial days were testing for Gharami, away from the 24 yards, with his father working as a daily wage worker trying to make both ends meet for his family. But Gharami never had a money-minded approach and went through the odds to make life easier for his family. “They weren’t well off at one stage but over the past few years, they have moved up the ladder. His father is doing well and Sudip, apart from playing first-class, plays for CAB’s top club East Bengal. But Sudip isn’t money-minded and that has helped him as cricketer,” Gharami’s childhood coach Debesh Chakraborty told PTI.

Sudip Gharami: Rejected at district level; groomed by Arun Lal

His cricketing journey was not easy either as there was a time when he was rejected in a age-group team for a district level competition as the authorities had problems with his coach. “He was once rejected from district age-group team because the authorities had problems with me. I remember when he was a teenager, he would accompany me to various coaching centres across districts for a net session as clubs wouldn’t enrol him,” his coach said. 

“Once Arun saw him (Gharami), he gave the boy chance to have a place to practice permanently.” “Once, a club told us that we need to come at 5:30 am in the morning and we will get two hours to have nets till 7:30 am before their boys turn up for training. I would arrange for four net bowlers who would bowl to Sudip. This Ranji century is an ode to his struggles,” said Chakraborty, known as one-stop solution for any cricketer wanting to get match practice.