Mainland Sambaran Cricket Academy has been a hub for young cricketers who come to harness their skills in the sport that captivates the imagination of an entire nation. The academy celebrated their 25th birthday in Mainland China on Gurusaday Road on Monday, April 21.
The event saw the felicitation of the academy’s under-13 and under-15 teams, who were each given a cricket kit to help motivate the players to work harder on their game, along with access to proper equipment and facilities.
Addressing the gathering, Sambaran Banerjee said, “If a 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi can hit a six on the first ball of his IPL debut, even our players can do it. We want to help them work hard and learn from their failures and be the best version of themselves. My ultimate goal is to see one of our kids play Test cricket for India.”
‘Test cricket is still the purest form of cricket. I have nothing against the shorter formats, but I want to produce a Test cricketer for India,’ said Banerjee
Speaking to the audience, Anjan Chatterjee, the founder of Speciality Restaurants, and one of the biggest supporters of the academy, said, “This relation with Sambaran goes way back. He is running one of the finest cricketing academies with top-notch facilities. We want to see players going out from this academy and gaining success. I hope to see two to three of them playing IPL or at least one playing for India.”
“Test cricket is still the purest form of cricket. I have nothing against the shorter formats, but I want to produce a Test cricketer for India. We need to make these youngsters play more day games to set their temperament for Test cricket. Playing only limited overs cricket won’t help, we have the potential to turn these players into all-format crickets,” Banerjee said.
Anjan Chatterjee added, “We had a proper felicitation where the mayor, Firhad Hakim, was present. That is when we handed out the kits. There, a small girl walked up to me and asked why she couldn’t play. I decided then and there that we would have an academy for girls. We are working towards it. The girls academy will be under the same banner, but we first need to build the facilities like a changing room and a girls washroom, which is basic. We want this project to hit the ground running in three months.”
Chatterjee and Banerjee present a gift to Sabeer Rahaman, a 13-year-old, who travels from Birbhum to Vivekananda Park every weekend for practice
My Kolkata also spoke to Sabeer Rahaman, a 13-year-old who travels from Birbhum to Vivekananda Park every weekend for practice. A young, promising all-rounder, who has been practising at Mainland Sambaran Cricket Academy, Sabeer spoke about how his coaching and what his aspirations are: “It is really inspiring to see Sambaran sir observing our practices. We have some really good coaches who have been helping me with any mistakes they see in my technique. My dream would be to play Test cricket for India, but I have to work really hard for that.”