Hyd lad makes it to Finland cricket team

This is yet another glorious instance of a homegrown cricketing talent making it to the top echelons in a foreign nation. If the way things are shaping up in Helsinki are pointers, then Aniketh Pusthay, a product of Secunderabad-based St Mark’s High School, could well be Finland cricket’s gain and Telangana State’s loss.

Displaying exceptional adaptability in a country that is situated in the Scandinavian region and has climatic conditions symmetrically opposite to the humid conditions in Hyderabad, where he blossomed into a full-fledged player, Aniketh has made it to the national squad with his impressive all-round showings. He is all set to make his international debut in next year’s ICC Europe Division 3 championship.

Although endowed with the talent to knock on the doors of the big league back home, Aniketh today is ‘contended’ that shifting to Finland, courtesy of Tiia, the Finnish Law student at Helsinki University he loved and married, has been worth the gamble.

If the career shift and cricketing histrionics fructify on the morrow, he could gradually emerge as one of the country’s favourite son-in-law. At least, this is what his kin and close buddies are hoping for.

“The people were happy when I demonstrated my abilities with the bat and ball with a remarkable consistency. Cricket is gradually evolving itself as a popular one among the locals, thanks to the zeal with which the expats are promoting it in every nook and corner.

There is a sizeable population of natives from cricket-playing nations like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Great Britain. Not surprisingly, the sport has brought all of us together. We are taking forward the gentleman’s game to new vistas.

Thankfully, a tremendous support has come from the locals, who are lapping it up in a big way. The present national captain, Zahidullah Kamal, is an Afghan who has spent a decade in New Delhi,” explains Aniketh, who has been elevated as a fulltime coach for budding players, under the auspices of Finland Cricket Association.

This initiative is part of the ICC developmental programme, much like the apex body’s blueprint for Asia. Although, Aniketh joined Helsinki Cricket Club (HCC) in 2012 soon after moving over, he had to wait for three years to be in the national reckoning because the rules mandate that an overseas cricketer ought to have played in at least three full domestic seasons to become eligible.

A batsman, who has done well in any position in the order, and a bowler with proven success, he, however, had to discard the red cherry for the keeper’s gloves at the behest of HCC, the oldest club from among 28 that exist and battle it out for supremacy. “I must admit that for a novice he has done extremely well behind the stumps,” is the thrilled reaction of his boss Andrew Armitage, whom he credits for putting in place Kerava National Cricket Ground, the only full-fledged cricket stadium around.

For all the overbearing zest of these ‘promoters’, cricket is yet to touch dizzy heights in the popularity charts. It is just about moving up the ladder in a country where a take-off on baseball, Pesäpallo, is the national sport and a nation that has also produced globally iconic ice hockey champions, sky jumpers, Formula One drivers, Association Football players and, of course, the legendary Olympian Paavo Nurmi.

Undeterred and in their collective bid to ensure that cricket’s popularity stakes keep rising, die-hard passion-driven trail-blazers, including Andrew Armitage and his men at HCC, and Zahidullah Kamal with his band of trusted expats like Aniketh are braving up to the challenge. Thankfully, the dream is getting translated to the required levels in his adopted land to the utmost delight of ICC mandarins.

“Apart from having the personal satisfaction of doing well for the team with my exploits, and participating in all the promotional activities, I particularly cherish the fact that I could teach the nuances of the sport to over 1500 local students, who have taken a big liking for the sport having learnt the intricacies and enjoying the excitement it brings along,” says Aniketh Pusthay, whose younger brother is also into cricket nearer home.

By Sridhar K Penna