The last few seconds in the water are the most excruciating for a pearl diver. He knows he has to swim back up; his lungs scream out in the deathly silence underwater. But the object he seeks is right there. He pushes himself a little more. A little further, a little further...
Cricketer Antony Dhas’s story is similar to this. The years that defined his cricketing career were filled with hardship — he hardly had money for a nutritious diet or to travel to tournaments; people mocked the way he spoke and sniggered at his unease with English; his family needed his financial support... But he pushed himself more and more, until he got what he wanted. Antony is part of the Tamil Nadu team and also plays for Chemplast Sanmar.
An all-rounder, he is playing for Chepauk in the Tamil Nadu Premier League to be held later this month. Dressed in jeans, polo shirt tucked-in, with dapper black shoes and sunglasses, the 27-year-old sits down for a chat by the green expanse of Chemplast Cricket Ground at IIT Madras.
I am a fisherman from Pallam village in Kanyakumari district. Our village is beautiful; there’s a big, white church near the beach, around which houses stand. It’s quite prosperous and is surprisingly well-developed for a place that small. It was a rogue wave that changed my life. My father was hit by one when he was at sea on his catamaran and was badly hurt. I was in Class VII then, and had to give up school to go fishing in his place and feed my family. I had five sisters to educate and marry off.
Cricket was the first sport I encountered. I would watch matches on TV in our Panchayat office and imitate the players. The boys in my neighbourhood and I would play cricket with a rubber ball in the evenings on the beach sands. Of course, none of us owned bats. We carved them out using discarded wood from catamarans and the keel of coconut fronds functioned as stumps. I was good at it. The first competitive match that I played outside my village was the ‘Ooraga Vilayattu Pottigal’ that was held amongst 15 villages in our Panchayat.
When our team won and we marched into the village with the trophy, people looked at me in admiration. They thought I had something special. I felt motivated to try my hand at the game seriously. I enrolled at the Sunny Cricket Club in Nagercoil. That’s where it all began. I practised without sleep — I would go fishing at night and practise during the day. Our eyes were on the district-level knock-out tournament that was held once a year. It was our only chance to qualify for the Under-19 district team.
I went on to compete against 16 clubs to qualify for the Kanyakumari team. The next few years were among the best in my life. I was the captain from 2009 to 2011 and Kanyakumari scored some fantastic wins during that time. Usually, teams such as ours do not have that much exposure when compared to teams from Coimbatore and Vellore. They have better infrastructure and training. But we changed that.
I moved further up the ladder in my career. I played Division 5, 4, and so on, and finally Division 1. Playing Division 1 got me noticed — I got picked for the State team and subsequently represented Tamil Nadu for three years at the Ranji Trophy.
Cricket has given me everything that I have today. It taught me to deal with difficult people and situations. It taught me to fight. It taught me to be open to change. Once during practice, our team stood in a circle to discuss strategies for the post-lunch session. The coach explained it in English and I understood it. But when he asked me to repeat it, I couldn’t find the words and said something else. Everyone laughed.
But I took it in my stride. I kept asking questions. I didn’t care how it made me look. I have some great mentors such as Bharat Reddy, Jesu Raj, and Hari Subramanian, who encourage me. My dream is to play for India and I’m almost there. It’s all a matter of two or three years.
Now that I’m playing for the TNPL, I’m going to be on TV. People back home will see me play and I’m excited beyond words. They’ve got posters printed and are waiting for August 27.
I didn’t take up cricket to get a Government job. In fact, I got several job offers. But I turned them down. I want to create history as a fisherman who played for the country. And then, I’ll go back to my village. I’ll start fishing once again. I like that world.
