Guwahati: Ever since the Cricket Association of Mizoram (CAM) received recognition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with eight other associations in 2018, the expectations continued to soar. Not because that the sport is synonymous to the state, but the recognition ended a 26-year wait for the state’s cricketers to eventually find themselves rubbing shoulders with their contemporaries from the sport’s powerhouses in the rest of the country.
Like most of its North-Eastern neighbours, football has been the heartbeat of Mizoram. But cricket’s existence in the state dates back to the 1970s, and was introduced by the non-Mizo government officers posted in the state. Subsequently, the CAM started its operations in 1992, and began their quest for recognition until Justice R.M. Lodha-led committee granted them the status five years back.
In August 2022, the Duleep Trophy was reintroduced after a three-year gap and when the BCCI announced the addition of the Northeast Zone along with the existing five zonal sides, Mizoram pacer G Lalbiakvela found a place in the squad for the red-ball contest.
On the eve of the North-East Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2023 contest against a superior North Zone on Wednesday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, EastMojo caught up with Mizoram’s Joseph Lalthankhuma, who is hopeful of making an impact if he’s included in the Playing XI, especially after spending quality time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in the Karnataka capital.
Joseph’s cricketing career began at the Ramhlun Venglai Cricket Academy in Aizawl in 2010, but the non-recognition from the national cricket board till 2018, meant it was played for passion. When the CAM was formally inducted as one of the member boards, his parents weren’t very supportive of his decision to continue with the sport and two years later, the Covid-19 pandemic made their resolve even stronger.
“I started playing cricket when I was around 10 year old. Initially, I used to play football with my friends and badminton with my father. Even though we did not have the best of facilities in Aizawl, I’m using the facilities that we had at its best,” he said.
“Robert Lalfamkima, who was the ex-President of CAM along with the senior players from Ramhlun Venglai Cricket Club established Ramhlun Venglai Cricket Academy back in 2010. And since then I have been a part of the academy,” said Joseph, who hails from Ramhlun Venglai in Aizawl.
“After the CAM received affiliation in 2018, I was in class 12th and wanted to pursue cricket but my parents didn’t allow me to play. I was so desperate to play cricket that time that I couldn’t concentrate on my studies,” he narrated.
However, after completing Class-XII, Joseph went against the wishes of his parents to feature in an Under-19 tournament but failed to create much of an impact. He returned for the Cooch Behar trophy and slammed a couple of fifties, which eventually was the turning point of his brief career only for the Covid-19 pandemic to play the spoilsport.
“Then after completing my 12th, I went ahead to play a U-19 tournament, but I did not start the tournament very well. I went back home and was very ashamed of my performance. However, I did not want to give up and continued my training,” he said.
“In the Cooch Behar trophy, I played well, scoring two fifties and took a wicket. And that was where I felt I was taking the right track as I was selected for the NCA camp. But due to Covid, the camp was called off,” he added.
And as the nation-wide lockdown brought life to a standstill, sustaining a brief career in sports was getting costlier each day. With hardly any financial support, thoughts of quitting the sport did cross his mind but leaving cricket for good could have been an equally nightmarish decision for the now 22-year-old.
“During Covid, there was no other source of income. It was getting difficult, so I started planning to quit cricket and focus more on my studies. But it was a real tough one. I also convinced myself to join the Army but that year there were no recruitments,” he said.
As the situation normalised, and stadiums began to host games in bio-secure bubbles, Joseph steadily restarted his training and prepared himself for the curtailed domestic season. In the local tournaments, Joseph performed decently to earn the praise of the Mizoram selectors and possibly the much-needed boost to his career.
“Due to my performance in local tournaments, I was selected in the state’s senior team. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, I didn’t play well and subsequently was dropped from the side. I went back home and started preparing for the Vijay Hazare trophy (domestic 50-over tournament). We started with a 7-wicket win over Bihar, and I played a crucial role with a handy 45 during the run-chase. We won another match against Arunachal Pradesh, but lost the other three games,” he said.
“And luckily I got selected for the NCA camp,” he recalled with a wide grin.
Meeting The Wall
Joseph’s stint at the NCA gave him an opportunity to meet and be guided by India’s Test great and current national team head coach Rahul Dravid, who headed the NCA for two years. Recalling his meeting with the legendary batter, Joseph said he couldn’t sleep that night.
“At the NCA Camp, one day Dravid sir came and encouraged us, I was so happy and excited to see him in real life. That night I couldn’t even sleep properly, I even told this to our trainer Al Harrsha, who said it was quite natural, but advised me to stay calm,” he said.
“And interestingly, I couldn’t express in English how grateful I was to meet Dravid sir. For any youngster, he is an institution in himself, and you can imagine what I have felt after meeting him,” he said, now recalling the incident with a wide smile.
Joseph, who is expecting a place in the playing XI, aspires to become the first ever Mizo player to feature in a Duleep Trophy game.
“My dream now is to become the first player from my state to play in the Duleep trophy and then try to take Mizoram to the Elite group in the upcoming domestic season,” he said.
Nagaland’s batting all-rounder Rongsen Jonathan will be leading the 15-member North-East zone in the Duleep Trophy. Sikkim’s seasoned campaigner Nilesh Lamichaney has been appointed the vice-captain for the fixture.
Sikkim’s Sonam Palden Bhutia will be the coach, while Manipur’s Th. Kamlesh will be the physio and Meghalaya’s Vikash S Chauhan will be the trainer. Dister Marbaniang has been named the manager of the side.
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Prior to the tournament, the North-East team underwent an 11-day camp at the Nagaland Cricket Association Ground in Sovima near Dimapur from June 12-23.
The Duleep Trophy will retain its zonal format where the tournament begins with a quarterfinal bracket. South Zone and West Zone, the two finalists from last year, will get a direct pass to the semi-finals of the tournament. Central Zone will face East Zone in the first quarter-final at Alur while North Zone will face North-East Zone in the second quarter-final in Bengaluru. Alur will also host the first semi-final of the tournament.
North-East Zone: Rongsen Jonathan (Captain), Nilesh Lamichaney (vice-captain), Kishan Lyngdoh, Langlonyamba, A.R. Ahlawat, Joseph Lalthankhuma, Prafullamani (wicketkeeper), Dippu Sangma, Jotin Pheiroijam, Imliwati Lemtur, Palzor Tamang, Kishan Sinha, Akash Kumar Choudhary, Rajkumar Rex Singh, Nagaho Chishi. Reserves: Lee Yong Lepcha, Nabam Abo, Dika Ralte; Coach: Sonam Bhutia
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