Indian Manav Suthar (PTI Photo)
Indian debutant Manav Suthar’s memorable performance against Afghanistan came with an unusual twist. While the youngster dazzled with the ball on the second day of the one-on-one Test in Mullanpur, his family chose not to watch the feat from the stands.According to PTI, Manav’s father, Jagdish Suthar, a retired physical education teacher from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, traveled to Mullanpur with his wife and daughter Mansi to watch the left-arm pacer receive his maiden Test cap. However, the family returned home before the second day’s match due to nerves and superstition.
Manav repaid the faith shown in him by the Indian team management with a brilliant spell of 3/21 in 15.5 overs, leaving Afghanistan struggling in their first innings.“Yes, me, my wife and my daughter Mansi (Manav’s younger sister) came to watch his debut. I can’t describe how I felt when I saw him get the Cap test yesterday. However, today we returned home as we were all a bit nervous and superstitious watching him live from the field,” Jagdish Suthar told PTI during an exclusive interaction on the second day of the Test.Despite his son’s rise to international cricket, Jagdish was unwilling to take any credit for the achievement.
Instead, he highlighted the dedication Manav has shown over the years and acknowledged the role played by his childhood coach.“It is Manav’s hard work and the hours he put in. He would leave home to train in the morning and return late in the evening. It is the credit of him and his childhood coach Dheeraj Sharma that we all owe. Manav has learned all his cricket under him,” said Suthar Senior.Reflecting on his son’s early years, Jagdish said there was not a single moment when he realized that Manav could become a professional cricketer. Like many kids, cricket was just a game he loved from a young age.“Like any other child, he was also passionate about cricket. He used to play tennis and bouncy ball when he was around six to seven years old. Since I was a PT teacher, I always encouraged my son to play the sport and enjoy it.
When he was around 10 to 11 years old, I enrolled him in Dheeraj Sir Academy. “Then I just told him, ‘Tujhe jo accha lage, tu kar, mera support humesha tere saath rahega (Whatever you feel you want to achieve, do it and I will give you my full support),” Jagdish added.When asked if he was concerned about balancing cricket and education, Jagdish said it was not a problem at all.“Cricket was his focus but he also completed his graduation,” he said.According to his father, Manav remains a quiet and reserved figure away from the game despite his growing reputation on the field.“When he is at home, we rarely have conversations about cricket. He doesn’t talk much. Yes, we know he is a big fan of Ravichandran Ashwin and the way he dominated international cricket during his time,” he concluded.The decision to leave the field early may have saved the family some anxious moments, but back home they would have been delighted to know that Manav enjoyed a dream second day in Test cricket, putting Afghanistan under enormous pressure with three wickets on his debut.