THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala cricket has given birth to several great players though the team was not able to do justice to the talent the individual players have shown. Kerala junior cricket circuit is now reverberating with a new sensation in a child bowler who has been uprooting stumps at will. Be it Under 14, Under 16 or Under-23 he is getting wickets.
The bowler is Abi Biju, a class 10 student of St.Thomas School Central School, Thiruvananthapuram. He nursed his cricketing skills under the watchful eyes of one of the best coaches Kerala cricket has ever produced, Biju George, fielding coach of Indian Women’s team and former fielding coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, at the SAI centre in Medical College grounds, Thiruvananthapuram.
Abi is a left-arm orthodox spinner and his jump and delivery resembles great bowlers who had left their mark in international cricket tournaments. Abi who is attending cricket coaching since he was a five-year old under Biju George has developed his own style of bowling with several stellar performances to his credit.
Biju George while speaking to Express said, “Abi is a left-arm orthodox bowler and he is a very hard-working boy who can cunningly shift his bowling according to the batsman which is an important factor in higher levels of cricket. He has a great future”. Abi has an impressive bowling carrier after his debut for Kerala Under 14 team at Cudappah in Andhra Pradesh in 2015. In 2016 Under 14 south zone interstate matches held at Goa, he was the highest wicket taker. He represented Kerala in Under 16 in 2017. In the Under 16 inter-district matches held at Kottayam in 2017, Abi Biju had an amazing spell taking 8 wickets for 33 runs and went on to become the second highest wicket-taker in Under-16 category in the state taking 35 wickets in 6 matches.
Interestingly, this fifteen-year old debuted for Thiruvananthapuram district Under-23 team and returned with a deadly spell of 10-5-15-6 taking 6 wickets by giving away just 15 runs in the senior league. Under-23 category is considered as the gateway to Ranji trophy team and this stellar performance shows the talent Abi has. Incidentally, Kottayam went on to become the South Zone inter-district champions.
Abi Biju was selected by Kerala Cricket Association(KCA) as “Notable Cricketer in Under-14 category during 2016-17”. In cricketing circles, this recognition from KCA is seen as a major achievement and very tough to get with only excellent performers given the recognition.
One of the greatest cricketers and former captain of Pakistan Waqar Younis used to comment that he broke into the big league of national team when the legendary cricketer Imran Khan was watching a club-level match on television and on finding the talent of Waquar, Imran directly selected him to the national team.
The rest is history and Abi Biju too can enter into the big league if he gets the right break at the right time.