Rourkela: Seventeen-year-old Abhinab Lal has written a biography of Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma: Man of Masterclass 2.0, realising a long-held dream.

The Class-XI student, an avid cricket fan, is not afraid to put studies in the backburner for his love for the game and writing.

"I took four months to write the book, but did a lot of research before that. I stopped going to school and took permission from the school authorities that I will join after completing the book," he said.

Writing came naturally to the youngster. His father said: "When he was in Class III, I saw him writing something and asked what he was doing. He showed it to me and it was a lucid narration of his daily activity. Then it struck to me that he has this talent for writing." His father, Pankaj Kumar is a businessman who owns a plastic moulding unit.

For Abhinab, winning awards in inter-school competitions has become routine. "I cannot see anything beyond writing. Apart from playing cricket, for which I trained for a year, I write and have no other passion or idea to follow. I write essays, poetry and stories also," he said.

He was happy that poetry was coming back to the mainstream. He does not read much or follow any author, which he resents: "I have no favourite author at this moment, because I don't get time to read seriously but as I have joined Plus Two artsinj Calcutta. Now I am going to start reading seriously because it will help me develop my style and knowledge."

On being asked why he chose Rohit Sharma as the topic, Abhinab said: "For me, he is the epitome of what real success is against all odds. He has struggled and established himself and who could be more inspiring for the youth than him. The best part is that he is the most criticised cricketer and whenever you start writing him off he would rise like the proverbial phoenix and prove the detractors wrong. He is a fighter in true sense."

"I am going to meet him this month in Mumbai before he leaves for Abu Dhabi for the Asia Cup. The book was possible because of his manager, Aneesh Goutam, whom I contacted through Instagram. He was the link between Rohit sir and me. He is involved with Kings XI Punjab and I met him in Calcutta during the Indian Premier League."

Regarding his own career, he said: "I am interested in cricket and play as an opener-keeper. But I want to become a journalist. Besides, writing will remain with me till the end."