Bengal Cricket: Nabin Sangha keeping the "Chakdaha" dreams alive

Chakdaha, a very small town in Nadia District, West Bengal has been in news recently. The reason for that is obviously the legend who was born here and made it on the world stage; Jhulan Goswami. Moreover, Anushka Sharma starred a biopic on Jhulan, amplified the name "Chakdaha" to a larger scale. But, in the back of everything, the cricket and sport in Chakdaha are getting amplified by one club, Nabin Sangha. Sportz Point went to see the club's progression and noted every bit of their story of fight, grit and toughness for the people to see and acknowledge.

Nabin Sangha is one of the oldest clubs in the Nadia District and has earned a remarkable reputation in the area of sports through its dedication and discipline. Well, let's not go so back to redeem their glory. It was the 2014-15 season when a rookie named Sayan Ghosh emerged from their cricket coaching centre to make a debut for Bengal.

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Not only that, he went on to get bought by IPL franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals later on. But, why, we are glorifying only one player's journey to showcase a club from a small town? Well, the answer lies in their story.

As you know, every player from here has to take the early morning train to go to Kolkata to make their mark in Kolkata Club Cricket; without which you can not make a name for yourself. But, the interesting fact is that many cricketers from this club have showcased their talents playing for districts and then went on to play for Bengal; which is not the case for players from Kolkata or other bigger cities.

Playing for your district or zonal club and doing well is the first step of your cricket career here in smaller towns. And, unfortunately, if you do well in these smaller leagues, no one might know as well. Hence, the journey becomes tougher.

That is when clubs like Nabin Sangha support young talents to keep playing. Yes, just to keep playing. We went to Nabin Sangha's Cricket Camp in the early morning to record their practice and found some interesting things.

Most of the players (even those who are 18-22), do some odd jobs first to continue their cricket and then come to practice just to make their dreams come true. Narendra Nath Dutta, who once played for Nabin Sangha in the district leagues and tournaments, now runs the cricket camp as the head coach.

Read Also: From Chakdah to Lords: Adios, Jhulan Goswami

In a casual interaction with him, he shared another amusing thing. The senior cricketers who are over thirty and now have kids and families also come to practice and even play local tournaments just out of their love for the game. According to him, this gives a lesson for the young kid on how to remain true to your passion even when you have difficulties in your life. That is why he believes before becoming a great cricketer, one need to become a good human being and that helps as a cricketer.

Amit Mondal, who also used to play for the club now helps Narendra Nath Dutta as one of his assistants in the coaching centre. Moreover, they now have the guidance of their homegrown Sayan Ghosh who shares his first-class and IPL experience with more than 100 kids who come to practice. Sayan comes to the coaching centre whenever he is at Chakdaha. He fast bowler considers Narendranath Dutta as is teacher and guru.

Read Also: 15-year old Rehaan Mondal smashes triple hundred in U-16 tournament, wants to play for Bengal someday

Yes, we can go on to talk about all the facilities this camp has or the facility of having the ground to play practice matches throughout the season. But, the main strength of the camp is the resilience and toughness of the young kids of the club. Moreover, young kids from many parts of the district come to practice here which ultimately helps the camp with tougher characters.

Some of them have left cricket just to keep up with the flow of life, but some are still smashing balls out of the park. A young left-arm spinner, Deep Biswas who works as a delivery boy in Food Express rolls his arm over to outfox batters in the maidans of Kolkata.

The time I spend at the cricket camp not just saw some young kids learning the game, but learning the way of life. "Leave good balls, and smash when it is in your arch."

Another interesting fact is that with the amount of local tournaments they play and win makes the players more game ready. Even the life story of MS Dhoni revealed how the peer pressure of winning in front of close audiences makes the players tougher mentally. Nabin Sangha proudly plays near about every local tournament and even competes against players from bigger cities with their homegrown talents.

Why this story? Because the dream is far away from here. Because the story is tougher from here. Sometimes they just need a pat on the back to continue chasing the dream.

As now Chakdaha has a face named Jhulan Goswami or Sayan Ghosh, it is our duty to show love, affection and support to every player coming from smaller cities and districts. Visit and watch local league games, applaud the efforts and who knows we may have someone as bigger as Jhulan in the coming days.