Playing his debut in the Bihar Ranji team, 22-year-old Sakibul Gani scored a record-breaking 341 runs in his debut first-class innings. For his record show, he was also congratulated by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, and now, the youngster has set his sights on a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to further display his mettle.
Sakibul, who hails from the Motihari district of Bihar, works hard on the cricket field alongside his brother and mentor Faisal Gani, recalling how his mother Ajma Khatoon had to mortgage her gold chain to buy three cricket bats after he got selected for the Ranji Trophy, which was later redeemed after getting match fees.
“I am the youngest of six siblings, due to which everyone loves me," said an emotional Sakibul.
His father Mohammad Mannan Gani is a farmer who also runs a small sports shop in Motihari. There have been many occasions when he has had to mortgage his land to meet his son’s cricketing requirements.
Sakibul’s elder brother Faisal also plays cricket and the 22-year-old learnt the tricks of the game from him. Sakibul credits his success to his brother and says that till now hasn’t felt the need to go to any big academy to hone his cricketing skills.
Sakibul became obsessed with the sport from the fourth grade. After that cricket became everything to him. He also described himself as a “biggest fan" of former Indian opener Virender Sehwag.
“There is no proper facility to hone the skills of cricket in such a small space. We want to send him to Delhi, but financial issues are there in the family. Somehow a turf pitch has been made near the house. Everything in cricket is getting expensive, which is outside the reach of common people," Sakibul’s brother said.
Sakibul has turned out for Bihar's U-23 team as well as in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) tournament and the Vijay Hazare (50 over) trophy before his record-breaking innings in Ranji Trophy. He has scored triple and double centuries for the U-23 team.
Apart from batting, Sakibul says that he also does bowling. He took four wickets in the match played against Arunachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy.
