Kurla slum school take on the best of Mumbai

Boys from Kurla slum school take on the best of Mumbai

It was only their second season in Mumbai's famous school-cricket tournament, Giles Shield, and their first semi-final ever. However, the boys of Al Barkaat Malik Islam English School, located in the slum neighbourhoods of Kurla, prayed fervently for one thing: that none of them gets injured. 


Their substitutes hadn't turned up, as their parents saw little point to them waiting out as others played
The boys would eventually win, entering the final and capping a remarkable journey that began just a season ago, when they were knocked out in the first round.Belonging to middle-class and lower-middle-class families, for the boys from Al Barkaat School, getting to play itself has been a luxury so far. When they played their counterparts from Dhirubhai Ambani International School earlier this year, it was the first time they had played on a ground of the scale of Azad Maidan, and their first encounter with leather balls and competitors wielding English willow bats and elaborate kits.

Coach Pankaj Ojha remembers going to the houses of each of his boys to convince their parents of their potential and to let them explore the same.

When they took on the Dhirubhai Ambani team, Ojha faced another problem. His boys were used to playing cricket with a tennis ball and none had ever tackled a leather one before. The first time they played in the U-14 Giles Shield tournament, the batsmen even rotated the strike despite not having taken a single since they had played their cricket with bowling done from just one side.

"They thought that they had to similarly rotate strike each over," Ojha said.

Ahead of the final, to be held on January 3 against Lokmanya Tilak School, the boys have been promised three new "English" bats. Ojha said it was important that the batting side lasted 110 overs. "Next year," he added, "they will be playing three-day games."

The popularity of gully cricket in these low-income areas prompted Al Barkat to form a team. Three players in the Railways team stepped in to coach them for free. The rigorous daily two-hour practice paid off. They reached the quarters inMumbai's school cricket circuit on debut his year where they scalped high-profile schools like Dhirubhai Ambani and Xaviers to lift the trophy!

Ashish Gupta, the coach of the Al Barkat school cricket team, says, "Those who cannot afford, the school provides the cricket kits to them. The kit includes 2-3 bats, gloves and everything else that is required and necessary."

The Al Barkat school bears all the training expenses and it is this assistance provided by the school that lured 13-year-old Mohnish from a village in UP to chase his cricketing dreams.

Recently the young champ scored a 198 not out. He says he dreams of playing for the Indian cricket team.

Teams like Al Barkat reflect the changing face of Indian cricket, which is no longer a reserve and prerogative of the elite. And who knows, another star may soon be sighted in the bylanes of Mumbai.