It was not long ago that a tiny cricketer would be followed by his mother to every single match he participated in, despite all the discomfort she had to endure and the sacrifices she had to make in managing household affairs. Her dedication led her to travel great distances just to inspire her son, with a dream in her heart that one day her boy – Arafat Sunny – would one day make her proud by representing her country.
As time passed, Nargis Akter’s own motivation gradually started to diminish as the left-arm spinner was repeatedly denied a place in the Tigers dressing room, which was already crowded with many left-arm slow bowlers.
Though her belief in her son’s ability kept her going, things became difficult as Arafat himself lost confidence and thought that he could never make it to the international level.
‘Five years ago, Arafat wanted to leave cricket out of sheer frustration,’ an emotional Nargis told New Age.
‘I think that was a very difficult phase that we passed.’
‘I always knew that some day he would make it big, but to be honest all the rejection my son received made us doubtful regarding his chances at the international level, for which I had devoted almost my entire life,’ she said, adding ‘I am happy that all my effort did not go in vain.’
Arafat is a seasoned campaigner at the domestic level, having completed 12 years in first-class cricket on February 6, the day after he came to know that he had been included in the Tigers’ Twenty20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka.
Still not totally at ease at the international level despite making a decent debut in which he took 2-17, the bowler seemed to be short of words when asked about his debut match.
‘I was very nervous when I came on to bowl the first delivery,’ Arafat said after the first Twenty20 in Chittagong.
‘Though I have played cricket for a long time, it’s still a different ball game.’
‘I know any mistake won’t go unpaid.’
All I am trying to do is be myself rather than trying to do something entirely different from my character,’ he added.
Arafat was a dominant figure in last year’s Dhaka Premier League last year as he took a league-leading 29 wickets
at an average of 19.13, and now the boy of old town is looking forward to making his presence count at the international level as well.
Though his long wait seems to be over at last, his journey really starts now.
-With New Age input
