Vinoo Mankad Trophy: Gurdaspur cricketer finds place in Punjab U-19 team
Off-spinner Parath Kalia (17) has done the city proud by getting selected in the Punjab (Under-19) team that will take part in the All India (Under-19) Cricket Tournament for the Vinoo Mankad trophy slated to be held in Jaipur from October 4.
He is a regular trainee at the Government College for Boys’ cricket ground.
The youngster’s cricketing career took off when in September last year, he was invited by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) to have a bowling stint at the nets against the senior Australian cricket team led by Pat Cummins. He bowled to the batsmen of the calibre of David Warner, Mitchel Marsh, Steven Smith, Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne and even earned a word of praise from many of them.
Parath has also donned Punjab colours in the 2024 School Games Federation of India (SGFI) cricket tournament held at Patna in January this year. The Punjab team was placed at the third spot.
He has studied at Guru Arjun Dev Senior Secondary School, Dhariwal.
A resident of Gurdaspur, Parath was admitted to the Dhariwal school, 6 kilometres away, as it had a sports culture. Already, many cricketers had made a name for themselves in domestic cricket while studying at that school.
In order to impart more variety to his bowling skills, Parath is working hard to master the ‘carrom ball’ where the ball is gripped in such a way that once released by the flick of a finger, it travels straight hoodwinking the batsman who thinks it will turn.
“Yes, I am practising the carrom ball. I understand it is a difficult art but nevertheless, I will be able to have a grip on it by regular practising. I am looking forward to my stint with the Punjab team in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. A good performance in Jaipur could earn me accolades,” said Parath.
