Bhopal: He would routinely lie to his parents, telling them he was leaving for his school or tuition classes, only to spend hours at a local ground honing his cricket skills. Undeterred even after his lies caught up with him, often resulting in an earful from his elders, Manal Chauhan, a bright and breezy 18-year-old from Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, continued to remain a serial truant until it got him a ticket to his dream — a spot in India's Under-19 squad.
Early Days of Dedication
The Class 11 student would get his first taste of junior cricket in national colours at next month's U-19 series in Sri Lanka. Manal's early days in cricket, when he was 6 or 7 years old, were defined by a single-minded resolve — never to miss out on practice even if it meant bunking school and tuition classes.
The teen said he would often slip out of his house in the afternoon, with a backpack stuffed with his cricket gear, to work on batting and fielding drills. "The pattern continued for weeks until my tuition teacher flagged my absence to my parents, prompting a severe scolding at home," Manal recalled.
From Truancy to Triumph
However, far from retreating into obedience, Manal doubled down — returning to the nets with renewed determination. His frequent absences from school and tuition classes, which many saw as deliberate truancy, was a necessary sacrifice for a larger goal.
"He made a choice," said his coach Tasleem Khan, who saw Manal's steady improvement firsthand, adding, "Every tuition class he missed or skipped was time gained on the cricket pitch. The hours of practice that he put in helped build his technique."
The improvement that he brought to his cricket started to show in his performances in school and district-level tournaments. Those informal practice sessions under the watchful eyes of his coach translated into consistent match-winning contributions, catching the eyes of talent scouts, district selectors and state coaches.
Recognition and Parental Support
Even his teachers at school, too, grudgingly acknowledged that the hours he spent away from classrooms fronting up to bowlers, refining shot selection and sharpening his fitness, brought an element of maturity into his game that was far beyond his years.
Growing recognition and praise for his performances in junior cricket finally made his parents and relatives, who would insist earlier that studies must take precedence, realise that their son wasn't cut out for academics. "Like many parents, we, too, were adamant initially that studies were the key to shaping his future," his father Sudeep Chauhan told TOI, adding, "But when people we barely knew came to us praising him for his cricket, we realised that bunking schools and tuition classes wasn't defiance. Rather, it was focussed resolve."
A Lesson in Prioritisation
Cricket administrators said Manal's story, although unique in its own right, isn't unprecedented. "Talent needs opportunity, a stage to shine," said his coach, Tasleem, adding, "He created that opportunity for himself by prioritising practice over studies."
Manal's selection for the India Under-19 tour of Sri Lanka will now put him through structured training as he awaits his international break in junior cricket. For many like him who dream of a career in sports, Manal's rise from virtual obscurity to a junior national call-up illustrates how hours spent away from text books can also reshape a life.
