Yet another Bharuch boy braves the odds

Another small town star story? Maybe more grim.

“Some days our family had to manage on just plain rice. We couldn’t afford anything else. I was scared we may one day be out on the streets, begging,” says Veragi.

Those hand-to-mouth days ended a year ago, after Veragi’s elder brother got a job in Saudi Arabia. And after Veragi’s Rs 1.5 lakh earning from the four-day cricketing assignment in Indore, Tankariya will have a new neo-rich addition on the social scene. “It just makes me laugh when I compare my previous and present pay packets. What I couldn’t dream of getting in years back home, now I make from four days of cricket,” says Veragi.

In case he had planned an evening practice session, Veragi used to leave home early in the morning. “I used to leave Tankariya early morning to catch the only train to Vadodara that was at 10:30 am. I used to reach the ground by 3 pm,” he says.

The trip back home was tougher. “Once there was heavy rainfall and all trains got cancelled. I had to sleep at the Vadodara station as I don’t have any relatives in the city. Even if the train was delayed by a few hours, I reached home at around midnight,” he recalls.

He got his first break when he was picked for the Baroda u-22 squad and 19 wickets there gave him a place in the Ranji squad. “Before my graduation to the Baroda senior squad, my parents were not convinced that one could earn a livelihood through cricket. ‘Learn some skills for a job’ they would say.”

... contd.