THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The story of Nivin Pauly's Rameshan who wanted to achieve his dream of being a cricketer through his son Kannan is well known to Malayalis, thanks to the acclaimed 2014 coming of age sports drama aptly named '1983'.
The real life of Rohan S Kunnummal, who will make his debut in the U-19 Challenger Trophy at Bilaspur on Thursday, has striking similarities to the reel life story of Rameshan and his son.
Rohan's father, Susil Kunnummal, played for the Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy in the late 1980s but couldn't take his career any further. So, he decided to live out his dream through his son.
Rohan was introduced to cricket at seven and his rise has been rapid. Aged 18, he was named the most promising Kerala cricketer in 2016, represented the state at the U-14, U-16, U-19 and U-25 levels and is now knocking on the doors fo the India U-19 side.
While Rameshan makes a bowling machine for his son to practice in the movie, Susil went a step further and converted the veranda of their home, in Koyilandy of Kozhikode district, into a cricket nets.
"As Sussex Cricket Academy where I trained was 30 km away from my home, I could only attend training a couple of times a week. To make up for it, my father would throw around 350 deliveries daily," said Rohan from Luhnu Cricket Ground where he will play for India Green against India Red.
Susil takes it up from there. "First, we used stitched balls, but had to switch to tennis balls as I began to hurt myself more often. I would wrap the tennis ball with insulation tape so that we achieved the desirable bounce," said Rohan's father. The custom still continues when the son is home.
Spending more time away these days, Rohan recorded the highest score in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy inter-state tournament this year -- a 162 against Goa -- and followed it up with anther ton in the inter-zonal event earning the call up to the Challenger Trophy squad.
Apart from being a prolific run getter for the Kerala age-level teams, Rohan has also been a prominent player for the Mattanchery Youngsters CA in Ernakulam A division as well as Sussex CA in Kozhikode A division where he is trained by Santhosh Kumar C, his coach since nine.
Just like any other youngster who plays cricket in the country, Rohan dreams of putting on the blue shirt of India one day. And with the likes of Venkatesh Prasad, chairman of BCCI's junior selection committee, in attendance at Bilaspur, he now has a golden opportunity at his hands.
Profile:
Rohan S Kunnummal
Born: May 10, 1998
Place: Koyilandy, Kozhikode
Batting: Right-hand batsman
Bowling: Right-arm off-break
Teams: Kerala U-14s, U-16s, U-19s and U-25s, MYCA, Sobers CC, Bilathikulam CC, Jolly Rovers, BPCL Kochi Refineries Club, India Green