How Arslan forced an opportunity, delivered
CHANDIGARH: There is a buzz these days at Zabih Tailors, in Chandigarh’s Sector 17. It isn’t just about the winter clothes, but also about the owner, 74-year-old Zabih Ullah Khan’s youngest son Arslan Khan. The youngster recently scored a double century (233 no) on Ranji Trophy debut for newbies Chandigarh against Arunachal Pradesh, in the first round of Plate Group at the Sector 16 Stadium. “It is because of Allah’s blessings and Arslan’s dedication that he could find a berth in the Chandigarh team and make his Ranji debut. To score a double hundred on firstclass debut is special. He has been all over the newspapers in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been getting so many congratulatory phone calls from my native place (Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh). My friends in Chandigarh follow Arslan’s cricket career too. They are all coming home and to my shop to convey their wishes,” says Khan, who arrived from Shahjahanpur in 1976 and started as a tailor at a shop in Sector 17.
Arslan, 20, could have made it to the record books if the Chandigarh team management had given him some more time to bat. He had made a rapid 233 not out off 234 balls in the first innings when the hosts declared, and he was only 35 runs from getting the highest first-class score on debut by an Indian batsman. Ajay Rohera holds that record—267 for Madhya Pradesh against Hyderabad at Indore in 2018-19. Considering his form, Arslan could even have completed a triple century. There were two-and-a-half days to go when Chandigarh declared at 502/3, four overs after lunch on Day 2. “It was a team management decision. It would have been wonderful to break the record, but I am happy I contributed for my team and we won. Ranji debut is special. With eight games to go, I will aim to make the chances count and score more runs,” says the left-handed opener, who hit five centuries in the recent U-23 one-day tournament, helping Chandigarh reach the semis.
He was not in the camp for the preceding Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 or Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournaments, but the weight of runs scored in the U-23 tournament (699 runs in 11 innings) forced the selectors to include him for Ranji Trophy. And Arslan responded by becoming the first Chandigarh centurion in Ranji Trophy. “I was never considered for the senior team. Chandigarh took part in the JP Atray memorial tournament for the first time and lost all matches. I was not in the Chandigarh team but played for Minerva Punjab Cricket Club and scored lot of runs, including a century. Still, I was not considered for the senior league,” says Arslan. He was playing for the Himachal Pradesh U-23 team till last season, but moved to Chandigarh when it got BCCI affiliation.
“From the age of 12, he was staying with our relatives in Nahan (Himachal Pradesh) to pursue cricket. The Chandigarh district, which was affiliated to Punjab, was not giving him a chance. My elder son Shah Nawaz was also a cricketer and he had taken Arslan to Yuvraj Singh’s coach Sukhwinder Bawa, who was a SAI coach in Gurgaon, eight years ago for training. He looked after him and started training him. After some months, we got him enrolled in a school in Himachal Pradesh. “At 13, he hit his first double hundred for his district Sirmour in a U-14 tournament,” adds Arslan’s father, who wants his son to score a lot more runs this season and don India colours soon. “Apne watan ke liye khelna ek fakar ki baat hai. Main chahoonga maine joe kurbaniyaan di hai zindagi main woh kaam aaye aur mera beta desh ke liye khele (Playing for one’s country is a matter of pride. I want my sacrifices to count and my son to one day play for India).”
Arslan, who idolises Virat Kohli, has set his sights on the upcoming Ranji matches. “I have forgotten the double hundred now. I am fresh and looking to score runs in the upcoming matches. I know my first-class career has just started and want to keep playing for a longer period and gain confidence,” says Arslan. His mother Amna Khan says, “We took him to Mecca and Medina (in April) to pay obeisance to Allah. I knew this will be his year. His father has worked for 18 hours a day to raise our four sons.” Bawa, now based at Chandigarh’s Sector 16 stadium, sees the spark in Arslan which he saw in Yuvraj. Speaking on the eve of Chandigarh’s Plate Group tie against Bihar, he said: “When I saw him play for the first time, I was amazed to see his talent. He would keep juggling between Gurgaon, Dharamsala and Chandigarh by bus all alone as a teenager for almost four years. “Like Yuvraj, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is a complete team man. He is here to stay.”