India debutant Manav Suthar’s memorable performance against Afghanistan came with an unusual twist. While the young spinner starred with the ball on the second day of the one-off Test in Mullanpur, his family chose not to witness the feat from the stands.According to PTI, Manav’s father Jagdish Suthar, a retired Physical Education teacher from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, had travelled to Mullanpur along with his wife and daughter Mansi to watch the left-arm spinner receive his maiden Test cap. However, the family returned home before the second day’s play because of nerves and superstition.Manav repaid the faith shown in him by India’s team management with an outstanding spell of 3/21 in 15.5 overs, leaving Afghanistan struggling in their first innings.“Yes, me, my wife and my daughter Mansi (Manav’s younger sister) had come to watch his debut. I can’t describe how it felt seeing him get the Test Cap yesterday. However today we had come back home as we were all nervous and a bit superstitious watching him live in action from the stadium,” Jagdish Suthar told PTI during an exclusive interaction on the second day of the Test.Despite his son’s rise to international cricket, Jagdish was unwilling to take any credit for the achievement. Instead, he highlighted the dedication Manav has shown over the years and acknowledged the role played by his childhood coach.“It is completely Manav’s hard work and the hours that he has put into practice. He would leave home for training in the morning and return late in the evening. It is his credit and his childhood coach Dheeraj Sharma to whom we are all indebted. Manav learnt all his cricket under him,” Suthar senior said.Reflecting on his son’s early years, Jagdish said there was never a single moment when he realised Manav could become a professional cricketer. Like many children, cricket was simply a game he loved from a young age.“Like every other child, he was also passionate about cricket. He would play with tennis and rubber ball when he was around six to seven years old. Since I was a PT teacher, I always encouraged my son to play the sport and enjoy. When he was around 10 to 11 years old, I had enrolled him in Dheeraj sir’s academy. After that I just told him, ‘Tujhe jo accha lage, tu kar, mera support humesha tere saath rahega (Whatever you feel like pursuing, do it and I will give you my full support),’” Jagdish added.When asked whether he was concerned about balancing cricket with education, Jagdish said that was never an issue.“Cricket was his focus but he has also completed his graduation,” he informed.According to his father, Manav remains a quiet and reserved personality away from the game despite his growing reputation on the field.“When he is at home, we hardly have conversations on cricket. He doesn’t speak much. Yes, we know that he is a big fan of Ravichandran Ashwin and the way he had dominated world cricket during his time,” he concluded.The decision to leave the venue early may have spared the family some anxious moments, but back home they would have been delighted to learn that Manav had enjoyed a dream second day in Test cricket, putting Afghanistan under immense pressure with a three-wicket haul on debut.
