Travel no barrier for dedicated NZ fan

He spent longer travelling to Black Caps training than it took the team to fly to India.

That’s 36 hours of dedication from cricket fan and net bowler Sourish Chaudhary.

Without a ticket, Chaudhary boarded the train for the day-anda-half journey to Ranchi, wearing his Royal Challengers Bangalore polo shirt, and turned up to bowl to his heroes.

He got his reward, too: an audience with Indian-born Black Caps spinner Ish Sodhi and a bag full of team gear including bowling boots from Trent Boult.

‘‘It’s very motivating for me as a cricketer and as a person of Indian origin. It’s mind-blowing. Thirty-six hours on a train, I don’t think I’ve had 36 hours in one place. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to meet someone like this,’’ Sodhi told Black Caps TV, as he presented their biggest Indian fan with his reward.

Sodhi first met Chaudhary two years ago when he turned up at Northern Knights training during their Champions League campaign.

He was sighted again when the team were in India earlier this year, then again before the first ODI in Dharamsala - a mere five-hour train ride from his home - as he continued to follow the New Zealanders through the ODI series.

‘‘He’s been helping us out relentlessly, been travelling all over the country for us. It’s a big country. To see this kind of dedication and sacrifice just for 10 minutes of being able to bowl against some of the best players in the world… there’s very little we can understand about it but it gives me a lot of inspiration, someone who loves this game just as much as I do,’’ Sodhi said.