Thirteen-year-old Advay Kumat cracks 118 and bags eight wickets including a hat-trick
By K.R. Nayar
From Ardingly, England
Thirteen-year-old Advay Kumat carries with him a maturity much beyond his age and fully implements whatever he has learned about the game when he is on the cricket field. He is one of the budding cricketers taking part in the Global Cricket Festival organised by the G Force Cricket Academy at Ardingly College.
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| G Force Head coach Gopal Jaspara with Advay Kumat |
Kumat, who bowls leg spin, then went on to produce a stupendous spell of eight wickets which included a hat-trick. When asked about his performance, Kumat said: “All that I did was stay at the wicket and pick the right ball to hit. I got those runs by following the instructions on the importance of how to play a long innings. In bowling, I did what I should be doing to get wickets and that is to bowl in the right areas. In the end, my analysis read 9.4 overs, two maidens, 29 runs and eight wickets. I am delighted to get a hat-trick too. Overall I got 12 wickets as I took four wickets in the second innings too.” So dominating was his performance in this match that this can easily be labelled the ‘Kumat Test’.
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| Advay Kumat with the Player of the Match award |
For Kumat, this was his best spell ever. His previous best was 5 for 25 against Young Talents Cricket Academy in a tournament held in Dubai. “I am delighted that I have recorded my best spell and highest score,” said Kumat, who started playing with a hard cricket ball only from the age of nine.
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| Advay Kumat at the Lord's Cricket Ground |
Kumat is such a spirited boy that he refuses to stop playing. Even when walking to the dining hall or back to the room, he loves rotating his arm demonstrating his bowling style or shadow-playing a batting stroke. Once back in the room, he starts playing again — either bowling to a roommate or simply taking catches. In fact, he has to be forced to go to bed by coach Jasapara. Every day, Kumat wants to be quickly back on the ground after breakfast and lunch. His performance is nothing but the result of his thirst for the game and a reflection of his huge passion and love for cricket. Kumat is an example of a boy who loves to eat, drink and sleep cricket.
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| Advay Kumat mimicks Gopal Jasapara mannerisms while explaining all his lessons verbatim |
Though Kumat’s roots are from Rajasthan, India, he grew up in Dubai. Both his parents, father Abhishek, and mother Neha, back his love for the game. Kumat will be in Grade 8 when schools open soon after his return from England. He is a student of the Dubai International Academy, Al Barsha. When I mentioned to Jasapara that Kumat is a good example of one who eats, drinks and sleeps cricket, he added that he is also someone who talks cricket all the time. He bravely mimics Jasapara’s evening lectures, especially the way he stresses each point by writing it on a board.
The day he was cheered for his all-round show during a
morning get-together, Jasapara asked Kumat to mimic him. It was simply
hilarious as he explained every point verbatim that Jasapara stresses on,
brilliantly mimicking his style of talk and mannerisms. Though it was a mimicry
show, the points he wrote and explained revealed how well he has absorbed every
line from his coach. First, he wrote the word ‘Team’ and explained how to play
for the team with team spirit. Second, he wrote the word ‘Cheer’, which meant
cheer for your teammates all the time. Third was ‘Respect’, which meant respect
the game, respect the parents who support you to excel in the game, and respect
the coaches and umpires. Like a teacher pointing a finger, he explained the
next point, which was ‘No unnecessary talks’, meaning focus only on the game
when playing.
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| Advay Kumat stresses Gopal Jasapara's message of 'No unnecessary talks' with the same emotion |
Jasapara then asked me to present Kumat with the ball with which he had produced his eight-wicket spell. When I was asked to address the boys, I wished Kumat many more such souvenirs and a reminder to keep bettering his skills. “Never be complacent and use every performance as a stepping stone for more glory,” was my message for the boys.
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| Presenting the ball with which he bagged eight wickets to Advay Kumat, to be kept as his souvenir |
When asked about his idol, Kumat named Sachin Tendulkar. What impressed me the most was his reply to my query on what his aim was. His response was very simple- “I want to become a very good cricketer.” It was a response from an astute boy who lives in the present, focusing fully on bettering his game every day. With such intelligence and passion, Kumat will surely go a long way.
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