From Mewat to Kolkata... Story of civil engineer-turned cricketer Shahbaz becoming a ‘Royal Challenger'

Kolkata club coach Partha Pratim Chowdhury has witnessed hundreds of cricketers with dreamy eyes flocking the Maidans but never a young man with engineering books accompanying his cricket kits until Shahbaz Ahmed checked in. Then 21 and pursuing a civil engineering degree from a private university, the player from Mewat is now a battlehardened domestic bulwark showing his wares at the big stage.

Shahbaz, one of the pillars of the Bengal Ranji Trophy side, is also an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore and has shown his prowess as a batter with two game-changing knocks, against KKR and Rajasthan Royals, in the ongoing IPL season.

“Yes, this is my third season and there has been a lot of time playing at this position, so now is the time to deliver,” Shahbaz said at the post-match press conference on Tuesday night.

“Today the situation was tougher because at one time, the momentum was towards RR (Rajasthan Royals), and the way DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) shifted the momentum towards us, I felt easy to play with him at that time. And with the same momentum, we could pull off the match (in our favour),” the 27-year-old said.

His success story was preceded by days of struggle as one toiled on the hard club grounds with some bald patches of grass for comfort.

“One of our boys Pramod Chandila (former Bengal and current Haryana player) got Shahbaz here. He was then in third year of engineering, I think. When he had semesters, he would skip a few games,” Chowdhury recalled his association with Shahbaz.

What amazed Chowdhury the most was Shahbaz’s ability to maintain his shape while hitting half a dozen sixes in two games.

When Shahbaz was asked last night about his role, he maintained that it was about playing second fiddle to Dinesh Karthik.

“My role is according to the situation, like we lost two-three wickets (early). But when DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) came, I did not have to think much and had to play with him. The way he shifted the momentum towards us, it became easy for me to play with him.

For Bengal, he has been a specialist spinner, but Shahbaz said that RCB wants to use him more as a middleorder batter, who would also occasionally bowl.

“It depends on the situation, a lot of teams have left-handers, so the captain gives the ball to leg-spinners. I hope that in the coming time, I will get to bowl more,” he said when pointed out that he hasn’t yet bowled for his team.

Anyone who thinks that his batting is fluke, Shahbaz has two List A hundreds for Bengal, apart from six first-class half tons.

“Recently, I was surprised that he bought a car kept it in front of my house. I told him that since you are always on the road, take it back to Mewat and gift it to your parents. He said, Partha da, you should drive to office,” the coach got a touch emotional.

“I completely give credit to his parents. He is an extremely well brought-up boy. His sister is a medical student, his grand father was a headmaster. He has got a very balanced approach to life.”