Ours is a close-knit family and as the youngest, I was loved and pampered and never felt alone at home. While my father is a strict disciplinarian, he is also a kind and loving person. I missed the company of my grandparents as they lived in a faraway place. But my mom made up for it, pampering me a lot, since I was the youngest child. Sister Jayanti is a very good friend. Whenever I?m away for matches I miss home very much.

grew up in Ranchi and I still live there. It?s a beautiful town surrounded by hills and forests and is now the capital of Jharkhand. Since my father works for Mecon, we live in the Mekon colony and it?s a world of our own. Everybody living inside the colony belongs to the large Mecon family. The children?s parks, playgrounds and everything around are ours.

He DAV School and the stadium were the biggest in the region where big matches like those of the Ranji trophy were played. And both these places were my favourite and I loved to be there for as long as possible. I was admitted to DAV in nursery and enjoyed my school days and had many friends. I played in school teams from a very young age. Even then, football was my first love and I still play football almost daily in the off-season. I was a goalkeeper in the football team and then, naturally, was chosen as the wicketkeeper for the cricket squad and I proved myself to be better than the others standing behind the stumps. I loved to play all sorts of outdoor games and loved staying outside the house for as long as possible.

I won?t say I was not naughty, but many of my friends were much naughtier and I was a little angel compared to them! It?s just that I loved playing more than studying. As a child, I was a vegetarian and loved milk and all sorts of fruits. Mango shake is still my favourite drink.

On?t sit idle at home. Play games but also love and respect your elders. Remember if you are sincere and work hard, all your dreams will come true.