He shows a straight bat to everything

MUMBAI: The man, probably in his mid-30s, sat quietly behind the big scoreboard at the Bombay Gymkhana, watching the Giles Shield final between Swami Vivekanand International School (Borivali) and Hansraj Morarji Public School (Andheri).

Pratik Gawli and Sandeep Joshi are holding fort for Swami Vivekanand International, chasing a target of 116 to take home their first ever Giles Shield trophy, after opener Sharvil Rane got out cheaply. Pratik hits an elegant copybook straight drive that zooms to the fence. The man, in white shirt and black trousers, exults. He is Manoj Gawli, Pratik’s father. At stumps, Pratik was unbeaten on 38, besides having taken six wickets earlier in the match with his off-breaks. But there is something special about this guy.

Pratik is one of the very few batsmen in the inter-school cricket circuit who sticks to playing in the ‘V’, giving no chance whatsoever to the opponents. Even his coach can’t stop praising him. “I have not seen many batsmen who play so straight like Pratik does. Amazingly, he had this knack of playing straight when he had just come to me for training some two years back,” recalls Dinesh Lad, Swami Vivekanand coach. “The only difference between what he was two years back and now is that he has become much more confident.”

But doesn’t Pratik get attracted to play the expansive cross-batted shots and score quick runs. “I don’t like throwing away my wicket. There is very less chance that one gets out to a straight-batted shot,” he says. It comes as no surprise when Pratik reveals his idol. “Rahul Dravid. He is technically so correct,” he says.

Interestingly, Pratik switched from a Marathi medium school to an English medium (Swami Vivekanand) just to play cricket. Hasn’t it affected his studies? “For me, cricket is more important,” he says.

Even former cricketer Dilip Sardesai, who happened to be at the venue, was so impressed with the 14-year-old that he called him after the match to give him a few tips. Pratik couldn’t just not stop smiling after the pep talk. “He (Sardesai) told me that I had a good technique but I have scope for further improvement,” he said.

But it hasn’t been an easy way through to realise his first love. Pratik comes from a not-so-well-to-do family. His father is a vegetable vendor in Borivali but that doesn’t stop him to help Pratik realise his dream. “I will always support him,” says Manoj. “But more importantly, he is a very intelligent boy. He is well aware of his family’s position.”

Meanwhile, a good news awaits Pratik as he steps out of the ground at the end of the third day. His school has decided to waive his fees considering his cricketing talent. “The director of the institution (Yogesh Patel) just informed me in the morning that his fees would be waived off,” says Manoj.