“My ultimate dream is to win games for India”: Salman Nizar ©Cricbuzz Against the odds, Salman Nizar remembers what was going through his head at one of the most pivotal moments of Kerala’s historic Ranji Trophy campaign. It was day five of the semifinal against Gujarat, who were two runs short of Kerala’s first innings total with one wicket in hand. Three runs would secure a lead and put Gujarat in the final, so Kerala’s fielders moved closer to the bat to create the slightest of opportunities. Looking to play a heave, Arzan Nagwaswalla smashed the ball against the crest of Nizar’s helmet at short-leg, and the ball ricocheted into the hands of Sachin Baby at slip. While the rest of the Kerala players mobbed Baby, Nizar was still on his knees, dazed and unaware of what had transpired. All he remembers thinking at that point was, ‘Ayyo, it went to the boundary or not?’ While the rest of his teammates were celebrating, he took his helmet off and was carried from the field for a precautionary CT scan, after a slight concussion left him feeling dizzy. It was a good reminder of the message his mother, Nilofer, had offered him in his early teens when he used to miss his friends while training at the Kerala Cricket Academy in Kochi: “If you want to get something, you have to sacrifice something.” Amay Khurasiya, Kerala’s head coach, said that the team owed it to Nizar for their progression to the final, and coined a term ‘Bakka Valore’ (bravery & courage) in the dressing room for having not budged from his fielding position at short-leg. That moment of Nizar getting hit on the helmet might be the postcard picture of Kerala’s memorable campaign, but the 27-year-old was part of several such pivotal moments this season. Only a match earlier, in an equally dramatic quarter-final against Jammu & Kashmir, he was in the thick of the action again as he and Basil Thampi staged an 81-run last-wicket stand to give Kerala a slender one-run lead in the first-innings and secure their passage to the next round. Nizar credits Khurasiya for showing him a video of a 10th-wicket 107-run partnership between Michael Hussey and Glenn McGrath in the 2005 Boxing Day Test against South Africa. The coach also told them not to think of the lead but enjoy the process. This made the Kerala team believe. There was also Thampi offering the much-needed positivity from the other end. “I think in 1-2 years, you’ll see Nizar playing at the highest level” – Amay Khurasiya, Kerala’s head coach *** “Basil was saying only one thing,” Nizar remembers. “That if you are focusing on big targets, like 80 runs, it is too far. If you are targeting 10 runs, it will be good. After the spinners came on, he said, ‘Go for it, you will be successful.’ He was giving me a lot of positive energy from the other side of the wicket. So, that helped.” It was in some ways a breakthrough season for Nizar, scoring 628 runs with two centuries, making him the second-highest scorer for the side behind his long-time friend Mohammed Azharuddeen (635). He had previously failed to take off at the first-class level. Hailing from Thalassery, a city he calls famous for three Cs – cricket, cakes and circuses – Nizar began playing gully cricket with his friends after school. Having taken up the game seriously from the seventh grade, he glided through age-group cricket, and made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2015 at the age of 17. But then the whirlwind came to a sudden halt. Despite several attempts, a century remained elusive for the batter at the first-class level for almost a decade. One piece of advice that stuck with him was the words of Azharuddeen, who had told him before the game against Bihar, “If God has it planned, you will score a century, don’t worry.” Incidentally, it was against Bihar, this year, where he broke the curse and scored 150. “I felt really emotional after the match because it was my desire to get that first century in first-class. After that, I knew that if I could get one, I knew how to reach there again.” Despite being a man of very few words, Khurasiya describes Nizar as an individual of tremendous self-belief, a work-horse and a genuine team-man. The coach describes a player who would never get tired despite training all day – someone who yearned for opportunities to show that he belonged. Now 27, Nizar believes this is just the start of his first-class career, and Khurasiya concurs. “He will come down as one of the highest run-getters in the future,” he predicts. Having captained the Kerala senior team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time, Nizar was also exposed to new learning experiences, none more than the virtues of being calm and patient with his teammates. Khurasiya provided guidance from the sidelines, which eased Nizar through the process of leadership. It was a tremendous show of faith by Khurasiya to Nizar, and the former believes that a coach should stand with his cricketers, not above them. After many tough seasons in the domestic circuit, Khurasiya had helped Nizar understand his strengths and gave him the confidence that he belongs at this level this year. He believes Nizar is an all-format player who can read the game situation to a tee and go about tackling the task accordingly. “I think it was all about making him understand his strengths. The best part was he can compartmentalise his brain and understand the different formats. He is an all-format player.” Nizar rounded off the domestic season with a decent outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 169 runs at a strike rate of 164 and a highest-score of 99* against eventual champions Mumbai, batting at no. 4. With aspirations of finishing games for India, Nizar sees the recent domestic season as proof that he belongs at this level, and as just the beginning of his journey towards bigger goals. “I want to win matches for my country. That’s the ultimate goal and the ultimate dream for me. Hopefully I will make it to the bigger stage.” Khurasiya, too, believes that the silent boy from Thalassery can go on to achieve greater heights, and become someone that the younger kids of Kerala cricket will look up to for years to come. “I think in 1-2 years, you’ll see him playing at the highest level,” Khurasiya said. “In 2-3 years, we’ll be keeping our [cricket] camps and we’ll be working with the boys and they will be fine-tuning many of the things that he has. And I think he will come out as a different cricketer in the coming season.” ShareTweet
