THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fabid Farook Ahmed is only two games into his first-class cricket career. But the 20-year-old from Thalassery has already etched his name into the Kerala team’s record books.
Promoted to the senior team from the under-23 squad during mid-season, Fabid was only appearing in his second Ranji Trophy match for Kerala against Goa at Porvorim when his fortunes changed.
Walking out at number eight, Fabid was expected to tag along with batting partner Robert Fernandez who was the more accomplished of the two. But the youngster was unwilling to hold back and unleashed himself against the Goan bowlers.
“It was an innings in which I did not restrict myself from what I am - a shot-playing batsman. In the end, I was happy the team managed a very important victory,” says Fabid, who puts the team ahead of individual performances any day.
Fabid would return to the pavilion with a man-of-the-match performance of 106 runs, a high for a batsman in that batting position as well as scoring the fastest 100 in the tournament in 119 balls for Kerala. His partnership of 157 with Robert is also now Kerala’s highest seventh-wicket partnership.
But Fabid feels his has not been an overnight success story. “It has been a struggle so far and I am reaping the benefits of the days of hard work I have put in so far,” says the cricketer who describes himself as a bowler who is also decent with the bat.
His Ranji debut had not gone as well as he had hoped and he was determined to react with both bat and ball in the second match. “There was pressure on me in the first match, but it was good pressure. I did not commit many mistakes either, but it was just not my day,” Fabid talks of his debut versus Hyderabad.
In Sanju V Samson he had a captain who he has played with since the under-13 level and in P Balachandran he had a coach who knew him well, which put him right at home among the seniors.
“The seniors are all willing to share their experiences and listen to you. It is also great to have a young captain as well as other youngsters around you,” he says.
As a newcomer to the team, Fabid is happy with the team’s performances in the previous two matches.
“I think this is a team that deserves to reach the next level. Personally, I will do whatever I can with both bat and ball as well as on the field to help my team get good results,” he says.
It has been a long-cherished dream of Fabid’s to play for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy; one that was fuelled by two of his uncles, C T K Usman Kutty and C T K Mashood, who represented Kerala in the 1990s.
“As a child, I always saw my elder brother Fazil leaving home with his cricket kits two times a day. Though cricket was in my blood, it was this image that made me join a summer coaching camp when I was 12,” says Fabid, who hails from Thalassery, the home of cricket in Kerala.
Rising through the age levels, Fabid would go on to represent the India south zone at under-19 level along with Sanju and win the Kerala Cricket Association’s award for best player in the under-19 category. The best spinner award too came his way for his exploits in the C K Nayudu Trophy under-23 tournament last year where he picked up 14 scalps.
“I have always set short-term targets in my career and representing Kerala in the Ranji Trophy was the most recent,” Fabid says.
“Now that I have achieved it, I am dreaming about representing India one day. But for that I have to improve on all levels and carve out a permanent spot for me in the Kerala team,”
Fabid has his target set. All he needs to keep doing now is fire on all cylinders.
Name: Fabid Farook Ahmed C T K, Date of Birth: July 27, 1995,
Place of Birth: Thalassery, Kerala
Batting style: Right-hand batsman, Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin
Favourite bowler: R Ashwin, Favourite batsman: Glenn Maxwell
His records
➤ Fabid’s 106 is the highest score by a Kerala batsman at No. 8 batting position. Previous best was 103 runs scored by V Hariharan against Tamil Nadu at the Medical College Ground, Thiruvananthapuram during 1986/87 season.
➤ Fabid’s 100 in 119 balls (including seven 4s and seven 6s) is the fastest 100 in Ranji Trophy for Kerala. He broke P Ranganathan’s record of a ton from 120 balls set at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Kollam during 1988/89 season against Karnataka.
➤ The seventh wicket partnership between Fabid and Robert Fernandez of 157 versus Goa is the highest for Kerala. Previous best was the 120 run partnership between K N Ananthapad manabhan and Sreekumar Nair in the 2000/01 season.