In the Eighties, when Jayanta Bhowmik first went to Calcutta to play in first-division cricket league, he faced scepticism. Some senior players said that coming from a subdivisional town to play cricket was "a waste of time".

But Bhowmik didn’t take the comments to heart.

“I wanted to prove that talent can come from anywhere,” he said. “I decided to coach young players in Siliguri so they don't face my struggles.”

As a player, Bhowmik represented teams in the Cricket Association of Bengal’s first-division league in Calcutta. He captained Kalighat Sporting Club from around 1984–85 to 1994–95. Back in Siliguri in the early 2000s, he founded the Agragami Cricket Coaching Centre at Ashrampara, turning his hometown into a nursery for cricketers.

On Saturday, Bhowmik received the TTEF Honour for an Educationist at the IIHM Presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2025 North Bengal in association with The Bhawanipur Education Society College & PCM Group & co-sponsored by SiP Abacus.

His mentor, Kalyan Biswas, fondly known as Pulak Da, guided him to set up the centre. “Pulak Da told me that through this cricketing centre, players from north Bengal would make their mark,” Jayanta said. “That dream has come true — we’ve produced players like Wriddhiman Saha, Debabrata Das (he played for India at the junior level), and many others who’ve played state-level cricket."

What began as a modest coaching camp on a concrete pitch evolved into a professional facility with six turf wickets and a modern indoor setup. Today, more than 500 budding cricketers, including girls, train under him. Bhowmik has also developed another turf wicket at Basundhara on the outskirts of Siliguri.