NEW DELHI: If Praful Hinge stepped into the limelight with his new-ball spell for Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, his partner sharing the new ball, Sakib Hussain, caught everyone’s attention towards the end of the Rajasthan Royals innings.Sakib finished with figures of 4/24, matching the best bowling performance by an Indian on IPL debut, as his slow off-cutters did the trick.“This fearless prodigy Sakib Hussain looks very talented. At the start of the chase, he got the big wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal with the new ball. Later, he showed his ability to bowl the slow off-cutter and his ability to nail them took everyone by surprise. His slower delivery gave Mustafizur Rahman vibes and he feels like a right-handed version of Mustafizur,” former New Zealand bowler Mitchell McClenaghan said later.If the IPL propelled Sakib on to the big stage, there was a time when it was difficult for him to even have two square meals a day. Hailing from Gopalganj district in Bihar, Sakib’s story of playing cricket at the highest level is reduced to the bare essentials and grounded in survival. “ Khone ke liye to kuch nahi hai, paane ke liye bas yehi hai. Jo karna hai so yehi karenge (There is nothing to lose for me, and what I have to gains is just this… so I will continue to pursue this and give my best),” Sakib says.Sakib’s childhood was unforgiving. A pair of spikes wasn’t just equipment; it was a choice between sport and sustenance. “Spikes jo aata hai wo Rs 10,000-15,000 ka aata hai . Joota lenge to khaayenge kahan se ? (Cricket spikes cost between Rs 10,000-15,000. If my father bought me spikes, then where will we able to eat the next meal from?),” Sakib said.Sakib’s mother, Subuktara Khatoon, remembers the moment when she had to make a difficult choice.“One day Sakib came to me and said, ‘Mummy, I don’t have spikes. How will I be able to continue playing cricket?’ I didn’t have the money required to buy the spikes. I had to sell my jewellery to buy him the spikes,” she said.Sakib’s father Ali Ahmed Hussain, a farmer, had to stop working after suffering a knee injury, leaving the family in a difficult situation. With limited means, even basic necessities were hard to afford.“I got unwell, after which it was difficult to even manage one square meal,” recalled Ali Ahmed. Cricket, then, was not indulgence; it was a gamble.“He works very hard. That’s why we decided to play our cards on him,” his father said. “It was not just hope, but a calculated risk.”In his debut match, he was trusted with bowling in the Powerplay as well as during the death overs. That trust has not come easy. It is perhaps why Sakib’s relationship with pace feels less like flair and more like responsibility.“Now I am able to reach speeds north of 140 kph. Next season, I am confident that I will be able to breach the 150 kph mark,” he said.
