He is known for his nippy left-arm fast bowling and for his right-handed big-hitting prowess. And he is a cricket coach’s ideal model when it comes to athleticism and smart fielding skills.

Meet Hokaito Zhimomi, India's first ever cricketer from the state of Nagaland, looking to make a name for himself in mainstream sports. North-East has produced scores of top athletes and sportspersons for decades, but Nagaland has been an exception, with no history of producing a home-bred sportstar on the national stage.

Playing club cricket over the last five years or so in the Kolkata Maidan, 22-year-old Hokaito may not have stood out with exceptional performances in the city's club circuit. But the boy from Dimapur, in Nagaland, has definitely become one of the most talked about names in Kolkata’s sports circuit after he got the call-up to train at the Eden Gardens with the Kolkata Knight Riders. In the few days of nets at Eden with Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting & Co, Hokaito stood out with his liveliness.

The chirpy Nagaland player, who is currently playing for popular city club Dalhousie AC, honed his skills in the game under former national selector-turned-coach Sambaran Banerjee at his southern Kolkata coaching academy.

Recalls Hokaito in a chat with The Indian Express: “My journey in full-time cricket goes back a long way, when I was a kid back home in Dimapur. I used to passionately watch cricket on TV, and then decided to become a cricketer. So, I came to Kolkata with an uncle of mine, who stays here, and joined the Gymkhana Club. That's where my cricket career started.”

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