7/28/2019 TCRM_2013_4_13_10

1/1

EDWIND'SA

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

Heis coy,softspokenandoftenstruggleswith

wordstoexpresshimself.But puthimon a

footballfield therivalpenaltyarea,tobe

preciseandWilliamLalnunfelasboots doall

thetalking.

Astop scorerinthe recentlyconcludedunder-20

I-League,whichhis teamPuneFCwon forthesecond

seasonrunning,the nineteen-year-oldjuniorfootballer

fromMizoramisdraftinganimpressiveCVfor himself.

AtPuneFC fortwoseasonsnow, thelankystrikerfrom

Mizoramhas scoredseventimesthisseason.Thisadds to

hisfeatof lastseasonwherehe hadtop-scoredfor PFC.

ButLalnunfelaisnotswayedby hislaurels.Heknows

wellthatthe journeyhasjustbegunandthe roadahead

istough.

Borntoa familyofcarpentersinKolasib,asmall town

inMizoram,Lalnunfelawas likeanyotheryoungsterin

hisneighbourhood.Hetookto playingfootball,themost

popularsport ofthe areaatthe ageoftwelve.But itcould

havebeenatotallydifferentstory.Lalnunfelaactually

startedoffasa keeperfor acoupleofmatches,a position

whichhedislikedandin afit ofpique,decidedtoplayas

striker.He turnedoutforlocalclub PuiPuifor two

seasonsandhiscapabilitiesin thefrontlinewonhima

berthinVengtharVC,the under-16villageteam.

It was during the Red Ribbon inter-village football

tournament that he was noticed by Pune FC talent

scouts and was among the lucky three selected from

Mizoram for advanced training at Pune FC with the

under-19 team.

Former Tata Football Academy head coach Ranjan

Chowdhury, and currently head of youth development

at Pune FC, who spotted Lalnunfela as a 17-year-old in

Mizoram is optimistic. He is certainly a very talented

player. Though he started out late in a span of two

years at Pune FC he has become very popular in Indian

football. He is a hardworking boy and I am confident

that very soon he will play for a big club in India, says

Chowdhury.

Hehasagoodbuildandasstrikerhehasagreat

senseofgoalscoringandknowshowto createspacefor

himself.Besideshe hasgreattemperament.All heneeds

isto improveontheclincialside,saysthe astute

Chowdhury.

ChiragTanna,headoperationsatPune FC,also

acknowledgestheyoungster'stalent.It isntoftenthat

youhavesomeoneasthe topscorerin theU-20I-League

fortwo yearsstraight.Williamisa talentedyoungplayer,

andwehope thathecan replicatewhathe hasdonewith

thejuniorteamwith theseniorteam,saysthe official.

The transition to the senior team is not an easy

one but if he continues to work hard there is no

reason why he cannot have a long and successful

career with Pune FC, says Tanna. On whether he

could be loaned out, Tanna isnt sure yet. If we need

to loan him out, we will discuss this with him, the

coach and the player, he adds.

Lalnunfelasonfieldstrengthsare hisspeedy

movementsandthe knacktocreatespaceforhimselfto

setup goal-scoringopportunities.Nevertheless,he

admitstohis shortcomings:I needtoimproveuponmy

finishingaswell,he sayswitha coylook.

Lalnunfelaknowsitsa hardroadaheadtoachievehis

longtermgoal playforIndia.And forthishes gladly

willingtogo throughthegrind.Evenif itmeanstwo

strenuoustrainingsessionsin asingleday.I definitely

wanttoplay forIndiasomeday.Thatsmy aim.I knowI

needtoworkhardforthatbutI knowIcanmakeit,he

says,suddenlyperkingup.

Williamisimpressedbythetrainingtechniquesat

PuneFCwhichhave helpedhimgreatlyduringhistwo-

yearstayhere.I havelearnedalotof thingshereatPune

FC.Thefacilitiesaregoodtoo, hesays.

And this has only hardened Lalnunfelas stance of

becoming a professional footballer even if it means

sacrificing his education midway, something which he

was serious about not too long ago. He has just

completed his twelfth standard in Mizoram and

looking at the options ahead he appears set to steer

away from further education and towards full

commitment to football.

Ihavejust finishedmytwelfthstandardbutnowI

don'tthinkI willpursuefurthereducation,he admits

shyly. Thisdecisionalsostemsfromthe factthathis

contractwas justrenewedfora periodoffiveyearswith

PuneFCand theclubintendsto loanoutits topU-19

playerstovariousclubs.Thismeansthat Williammay

nothavetimefor furthereducationif hehasto shifttoa

newclubin adifferentcity.

Likemostfootballerswith anosefor goal,Lalnunfela

adoresRealMadridstrikerCristianoRonaldoand like

mostfootballersfrom hisstate,he isa bigadmirerof

statemateShyloMamaMalswamtulunga.Currentlywith

Prayag,midfielderMamaisreveredby mostfootballers

fromthetiny,hill state,sinceitwas hisdecade-longspell

withthetop Indianclubsthatopenedthegatesfor other

youngstersfromMizoram.Hemovesso fastandhis

skillsaregreat,saysLalnunfelaofMalswamtulunga.

Afan ofcountrymusic,Lalnunfelaisreadyis toplay

foranotherclubonloan buthis loyaltiesremain

embeddedatPune FC.I amreadytoplay foranother

clubnow.Itsa challengeandI acceptit.Butsome dayI

wanttoplayfor PuneFCin theseniorI-League,hesays,

beforeaddingthat hewouldalsolike tofindhimselfin

theMohunBaganline-upsomeday,a teamwhichhehas

greatlyadmiredfromhis childhooddays.

He admits that he misses home sometimes and

does speak to his parents regularly on phone. But

during match days he does not call them before the

match. I want to concentrate before the match so I

call them only after the match to tell them the result,

even if we lose, he says.

Williammaynothavestartedsigningfatcontractsyet

buthehopesthat soonthroughhiscareerhe canmake

hisfamilyhappy.Hisfatheris acarpenterandmothera

housewife,andboth arepast50, soLalnunfelaishoping

thatsuccessatfootballwillhelphim takecareofthem as

theygrowolder.Iwant tomakethemhappyand take

careofthemin oldage.Thatsthemost importantthing.

It'sthereasonwhy Iscorethose goals,hesays.

BILL PENNIGTON

BubbaWatsoncriedonthefinalgreenafterhis

victoryinlastyearsMasters.Speakingatthe

defendingchampions customarynews conference

lastweek,Watsonwasin tearsagain.Later,asked

aboutthatnightstraditionalchampionsdinner,

Watsonconcludedthatifhe hadtospeak,Ill

probablycry.

BubbareduxtookmanyformsattheAugustaNational

GolfClub,notall oftheminvolvingsnifflesor sobs.Butthe

phenomenonthatisBubbaWatsonat theMasterskept

findingnewlegs.

Alongsidethe10thhole, scoresoffansweremakingthe

pilgrimagetoa shadyspotinthewoodsright ofthehole,

pointingandtalkingreverentlyasiflookingfora landmark

ata CivilWarbattlefield.Inthis case,theattractionwas an

unmarkedspotwhereWatsonsteeshotcameto restlast

yearbeforehehookedhisballaroundthetreesand ontothe

greentowinthe Mastersonthesecondplayoffhole.

Standingin thespot,everyonewantedto seewhatonly

Watsonvisualized.Thecavalcadeintothewoodshadsomewonderingif thereoughttobea plaquetomarkthesite.

Watsondidnotdisagree.

Whowouldntwanttoseea plaquethatsaysBubbain

themiddleofthepine straw?hesaid.Hethen addedthathe

wouldneverrequestsucha plaqueunlesshedid itagain

thisyear.

Then,yes,thereshouldbea plaque,hesaid.

Watsonhaswanderedoverto thespota fewtimesinthe

lastfewdaysas well.Hetookhis managerinto thewoods,

wheretheytookpictures.Hiswifedisappearedintothetrees

andtooka picture.Watsonplayedapracticeroundwith

RickieFowler,wholikeWatsonis oneoftheGolf Boysof

dancevideofame.

ButRickiedidntseemtoointerestedin goingoverto

thespot,Watsondeadpanned.

Otherplayershavemoseyedover.PadraigHarringtonwas

seentakingapracticeswing,mimickingWatsonsnear

miraculousshot ifright-handed(Watsonis left-handed).

AndWatsonsawtwopeoplestandinginthe woodsoffthe

10thhole.Hemotionedtothemthattheywere rummaging

aroundinthewrongplace.

Iyelled,No,thatsnotthe spot,itsa littleoverthere,

hesaid.I wasjustjokingwiththem,and theysawit was

me.Cometofind outitwas BillyCasperandhisson.Kind of

funny.

Casperisthe1970Masterschampion.

Sofar,everythinghascausedWatsontorecollectand

smilewell,almosteverything.

Earlyinthenews conference,Watsonwas askedtoname

themostinterestingthinghehaddonewithhis green

jacket.Watsonrepliedthatashe waspreparingforthepost-tournamentgreenjacketceremony,hesawan Augusta

Nationalmemberholdingone.

Iaskedif thatwasmy greenjacket,Watsonsaid.AndI

wastold,Yeah,andyouretakingithome.

At this point, Watson began to cry. Just before last

years Masters, Watson and his wife, Angie, had adopted a

baby boy, Caleb. Last week, after wiping away tears

several times, Watson added: I told him that I was going

to go home and wrap Caleb up in it. Thats the only thing

I did with it. Out of respect, out of honour. I didnt do

any of my funny antics that I normally would do. Only

thing I did was wrap Caleb up in it.

IfWatson,34, wasbeinghis routinelyemotionalself,he

alsowas happilyenjoyingeachmomentof whatcouldbe

hislast fewdaysas thedefendingchampion.(The Masters

wouldalreadybeinto itssecondroundby thetimethis

pieceappears.)Hecomesto theMastersnot playingespeciallywell.He

isranked42nd inthe FedExCupstandings,withjust two

top-10finishesthisseason. ButWatsonwasintoogooda

moodtobebroughtdownbythefactsofhisrecentplay.I

justlookat itas itsa differentyear gettingolder,

differentconditions,he saidwitha smile.Sowho knows

howIllplay?I couldmissthecut;Icouldwin.Butif youre

astats guy,youlookand say,Bubbaisnot playingasgood

aslast year.

Headdednonethelessthathewouldloveto becomethe

fourthgolfertorepeat,somethingonlyJackNicklaus,Tiger

WoodsandNickFaldohavedone.Butfirst,cognizantthat

thedefendingchampionisexpectedtohelpthenew

championintohis greenjacket,Watsonhasset an

intermediategoal.Iwantto makethecutbecauseIdont

wanttohaveto sitaroundfortwo daystogivesomebodythe

greenjacket,he said.Butifhe makesthecut,hesaid,anythingcouldhappen.

Heis BubbaWatson,theman whohitsnearmiraculous

shotsevenwhenseeminglycondemnedtogolfspurgatory.

Heis restrictedonlybyhis imagination.

Icansee mepullingitoff,he conceded.Itwouldnt

shockme.

Buthewas practical,too.

Iwouldstillcry,he said.Butit wouldntshockme. NYTNEWS SERVICE

AJIT BEZBARUAH

TIMESNEWS NETWORK

When Jasprit Bumrah bowled his first

delivery in this IPL, he was a little off the

mark. Virat Kohli was in front of him,

and he bowled the next three deliveries

with unsettled nerves. Bumrah was taken

to the cleaners but after conceding three boundaries in

the first four balls, he brought one back in sharply and

trapped Kohli right in front. That was it. After that he

kept His Majesty Chris Gayle quiet and bagged two

more wickets on that day. Suddenly, everybody was

talking about this slightly built boy, who with an

awkward, open-chested bowling action had taken the

cricketing world by surprise.

But people who have seen him from close for the past

two years knew that Bumrah, if not anything, had pace.

Playing for Gujarat in the U-19 category, he was making

waves during the Cooch Behar Trophy in the 2011-12

season when an excited Gujarat Cricket Association

(GCA) official called up the local media and asked them

to have a look at the youngster.

Rajeev Desai, who was Gujarats under-19 coach

during that period recalls: This boy was quick and

when I say quick, I really mean it. If someone can bowl

at close to 140kmph at 18, he has to be a special talent.

That most of his victims are either bowled or caught

behind the wicket is proof that he has pace. He also can

move the ball both ways but his incoming delivery is his

best weapon.

Hehasaveryslowrun-up,bowlswithanawkward

actionbutis veryquickin theair.Many batsmenhave

fallenpreytothis,saysDesai,adding,Heisawicket-

taker.Nomattertheamountofrunshegives,hewillalso

giveyouthose importantwicketswhenhe bowlsupfront.

A second-year student of HK Commerce College in

Ahmedabad, Jasprit is a little deceptive as far as his run

up or open-chested action is concerned because he

doesn't look like the conventional fast bowler in the true

sense. He is about 511, doesnt have a long run-up or

does not possesses a big leap or anything of that sort but

he uses his wrist to good effect, says Kishore Trivedi,

father of Saurashtra and Rajasthan Royals seamer

Siddharth Trivedi and Bumrahs coach at the Nirman

High School Cricket Coaching Centre.

When I first saw him, I wanted to do few things with

his action and run-up but he is naturally so talented that

I decided to leave him alone, says Trivedi, adding, And

as I can see, he was doing nothing wrong. His arms

remain straight in the swing and during delivery time

there are many bowlers in the world who have

unorthodox actions but Jasprit is fast and accurate, so

what more do you want. The coach adds that Bumrah

only started taking the game seriously after he attended

a summer camp when he was in Class X.

It comes very naturally to me so I find no difficulty in

bowling the way I do, says Bumrah.

Hestartedplayingata veryyoungageandwouldlove

allaspectsofthe gamebutthenhis interestinbowling

begantodevelopwhenhebeganunderstandingthe

nuancesof thegame.Wealwaysknew theactionandthe

pacewasdifferentthannormalbowlersofhis agebutyou

neverknowwhatthefuture heldsowe backedhiminevery

waywecould,says hissisterJuhikaBumrah.Juhikaand

motherDaljit,primarysectionprincipalatNirmanHigh

SchoolinAhmedabad,are thepillarsinJaspritslifeafter

thedeathofhis fathersomeyearsago.

Jasprit is very high on self-belief. It doesnt matter

if he gets whacked but he always believes in his ability

to come back and take wickets, says his Gujarat U-19

roommate Chintan Gajja who has spent a considerable

time on and off the field with the new pace sensation.

It was perhaps this self belief that helped Bumrah

come back and take the wicket of Kohli after being

thrashed for three boundaries off his first four balls on

his IPL debut.

Itwas formerIndiacoachJohnWrightwho firstspotted

Bumrahandpitchforkedhimintothe MumbaiIndians

squad.MumbaiIndianscoachJohnWrightwas talent

scoutinginAhmedabadduringtheWestZone T20sandhe

washighlyimpressedwithBumrah,revealsan MIinsider.

Iknew MrWrightwas watchingbutthatwas neveron

mymind.I justplayedmynaturalgame. AndthoughI

didn'tpicktoomany wickets,Ibowledprettywell atthe

death,saystheboy whotouched140kmphduring acamp

atthe NationalCricketAcademy(NCA)in Bangalore.

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel also thinks that Bumrah

is a different bowler who has a bright future ahead of

him. He is pretty young but he is quick, has good

variety and bowls good yorkers. Bowling tight at the

death has been his specialty and he has done that pretty

well for us, says Patel.

All the sudden attention has not distracted the bowler.

Juhika is confident that Jasprit will not change much

because he is a very grounded person. Grounded or

not, if he keeps bowling the way he does, his cricketing

career is surely going to soar high.

SAIBAL BOSE

TIMESNEWS NETWORK

Rahul Shukla is a common name, but it isnt

one you would have often heard in cricketing

circles. In fact, it would come as a surprise if

you had heard about him before last week.

Thats when this stocky youngster from

Jharkhand, currently playing for Rajasthan Royals,

rocked Kolkata Knight Riders boat by dismissing their

Mr Dependable Jacques Kallis for a duck.

Kallis perhaps would have comfortably negotiated

Shaun Tait. However, the South African legend surely did

not bargain for this unknown quantity to hurl down a

delivery at almost the speed of Tait.

Shukla touched the 146 kmph mark and celebrated

as if he had the world in his pocket. And why not? After

all, it is not every day that you send back someone like

Kallis at the blink of an eye. Shukla said later that he

stuck to the plan of bowling at Kallis body and

delivering it fast. He stuck to what he had been told at

the team meeting and history is witness that the man

considered to be the best all-rounder of his time, wascaught off-guard.

In Rajasthan Royals, we groom talent and Rahul

Shukla is one of the players we are focusing on, skipper

Rahul Dravid had said before the tournament. During

the practice sessions, the skipper saw enough talent in

this unassuming youth to include him in the playing XI

for their opening match against Delhi Daredevils. Shukla

was nervous; after all, he had so far only dreamt of

playing on such a big stage. It was all for real now. This

nervousness turned into confidence when he dismissedMahela Jayawardene. Unknown Shukla, who had caused

a few raised eyebrows when the Royals named him in

their squad, had arrived. Just like fellow Jharkhand

bowler Varun Aaron, who had arrived on the scene with

scorching pace a couple seasons ago.

RahulandIhavebowledtogetheratthe U-19levelas

wellasin theRanjiTrophy,Aaronsays,Hewasalwaysgood.

Hehasgotthe rightopportunitywithRajasthanRoyalsand

thiswillbeverygoodfor him.Aaron,currentlyrecuperating

fromastressfractureonhisback,said.He addedthatheandShuklaalwaysbowledfastandtheycomplementedeach

otherasbowlingpartners:Hewas alwaysquickand

extractedquiteabit ofbitefromthewicket.

Dravidhasbeen workingonthe confidenceof this

youngpacer,tellinghimthat heis goodat hisjob. The

veteran,inhis gentleway,makesa youngsterlikeShukla

feelat homeinthe Royalsdressingroom.Shuklaagrees

thatthepresenceofDravidhasgivenhima hugeboost.As

Royals'little-knownwicketkeeperDishantYagniksaid,

Draviddoesntdifferentiatebetweenaveteranand a

rookie.Hetreats everyonewithequalrespect.For aplayerlikeShukla,thatis ahugethingandtheresultsare

alreadyshowing.EarlierShuklawas inthe Mumbai

Indiansranksin 2010,buthad hardlymadeanyimpact.

He is still not a regular in the Jharkand side, but last

weeks show against Bangalore and hopefully a few

more will follow is sure to earn him some respect in

the domestic circuit.

Our talent spotters were quite impressed with

Shukla, a Royals official says, As our aim is to give

more opportunities to local talent, Shukla fitted the bill

perfectly. Of course, bowling along with the likes of Tait

and Sreesanth will help him immensely. He has been

picking up tips from these two veterans, and that has

further added to his confidence.

Although pace is his forte, ask Shukla and he will tell

you that he bowls good yorkers and slower-ones too. In

fact, he has been working on these areas, which has

given him some additional variety. He would definitely

benefit by adding variety to his arsenal. Although he did

pick up two crucial wickets against Kolkata Knight

Riders, he gave away too many runs. Thats the flip side

of pace. You are good as long as you are getting your line

right. But, stray a little and you'll go for runs. Shukla

gave away 28 runs in the three overs that he bowled.

Even by T20 standards, thats expensive. Against Delhi

Daredevils, he gave away 27 runs in as many overs for his

one wicket. His economy rate in the tournament so far is

over 9, which can be considered a bit on the higher side.

He has worked up good enough pace, now maybe he

should start working on keeping the runs in check. And

maybe, also work on his fitness to ensure that like Aaron,he doesnt pick up injuries early in his career.

Althoughithas beenquitesome timesinceMahendra

SinghDhonilast playedforJharkhand,the veryfactthat

theIndiacaptainis arepresentativeofthe statehasgot

manya hopefuldreaming.Shukla toocan dareto dream

now.For the22-yearold, agoodperformancein the

ongoingT20tournamentcouldopenthe doorsfor better

thingstocome.WiththepaceslotsintheIndianteam

morelikemusicalchairs, Shuklacanfancyhis chances.

Bubba Watson remains the most unlikely winner in recent Augusta Masters memory. Thisyear, as the world of golf focuses its sights on Tiger Woods return, this little-knownchampion wants to savour the moment for as long as he can

At 19, William Lalnunfela is arguably Indias

hottest junior footballer. Top-scorer in the

under-20 I-League for the second year

running, the Pune FC striker says he scores

all those goals so that he can give his

parents a good life in their old age

In Pune, a Mizo sniper calls the shotsTwo unknown bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Shukla,hailing from cricketing backwaters, created an immediateimpact in the opening week of the IPL

BOOM, BOOM

BUMRAH!

Not just any face in the crowd

THE TIMES OF INDIA

The Crest EditionPLAY THE FIELD

SPORT10

INWITHASHOUT!Withhis

unusualopen-chestedaction,

Bumrahcan troublethebats-

menwiththe deliverythat

comesin

Spurred by success that Dhoni has tasted,Jharkhands Rahul Shukla decided thefastest way to the top was by bowling fast.It helped that he found a mentor in Dravid

WATCHOUT:Thepace isthere,

butShuklawoulddowellto

learntokeeptherunsincheck

GettyImages

MandarDeshpande

Green Jacket Watson

tugs at emotional chords

FATHERTOSON: AugustaMastersdefendingchampionBubbaWatsoncarrieshisson,Caleb,duringthePar3 Contestaheadof

the2013MastersatAugustaNationalGolfClublastweek.Watsonwastied-64thwithanopeningroundofthree-over75atthe

timeofgoingtopress

SITTINGPRETTY: Lalnunfelasheart

maybeatforPuneFC,butisopento

playingatotherclubsonloan