‘Ek ball karane do, please’ – From boxing rings to 147 first-class wickets: Bishworjit Konthoujam’s unlikely journey began with a single request

NEW DELHI: When Northeast Zone pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam stepped into the attack during the Duleep Trophy quarter-final against East Zone, all eyes were on the batsman in front of him – 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.The expectations were clear. Limit. Big hits. Maybe even a few towering sixes.And Sooryavanshi did exactly what many expected him to do. After playing his first two balls, the young batsman hit the Manipur pacer for two consecutive boundaries. He married Konthoujam.But the 30-year-old had the last laugh.Soon after being hit for two fours, Konthoujam dismissed Sooryavanshi, ending the young star’s stay at the crease. Temper jumped into the air in celebration before receiving high fives from his teammates.For many onlookers, it was just another goal. But for Bishworjit, the moment was a reminder of how far he had traveled. Because before he started tormenting batsmen with the cricket ball, he was busy throwing punches in the boxing ring.

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Before Bishworjit Konthoujam picked up the leather ball, he was wearing boxing gloves. To prick. Cross. Hook. Top cut.Boxing was his first love. He won medals at school and national competitions. He trained hard and dreamed of a career in sports.But he enjoyed one more game – cricket.Like many youngsters in India, Bishworjit loved the game. However, he only played for fun. Whenever he found a group of children playing cricket in his village, he wanted to join them.Walking through the streets of Patsoi Part IV, his residence in Manipur, seeing children playing cricket, he would often stop and ask, “Ek ball karane do, please” – let me throw just one ball.He played cricket whenever he had time outside of his boxing training.“Cricket has always been my second love after boxing. But I never imagined that one day I would leave boxing and become a cricketer,” Bishworjit told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“I give a lot of credit to Sir Ronel. Whatever I am today is because of him. He saw something in me and pushed me towards cricket. Leaving boxing was not easy at all,” he said.

One conversation changed everything

Leishangthem Ronel Singh, secretary of the Manipur Cricket Association, first noticed Bishworjit when he was bowling with a tennis ball during a local game. The young boxer never received formal cricket coaching, but his bowling caught Ronel’s attention.He had pace. He could move the ball. And he had a natural bowling action.Ronel was impressed and suggested that Bishworjit should seriously consider cricket. Bishworjit took his time before making a decision. Then he decided to give this sport a chance. He put down his boxing gloves and picked up a leather ball.That was the beginning of the journey that eventually took him from the local grounds in Manipur to the Ranji Trophy and the Duleep Trophy.“I have never played proper cricket with a leather ball so it was very difficult at the beginning,” said Bishworjit.“Boxing taught me a lot of things. It taught me how to fight, how to get back up and how to get up after a fall. I needed all those things in cricket as well. Leather ball cricket was completely new to me, but cricket slowly became everything to me.”

Learn the art of fast bowling

The transition from tennis ball cricket to leather ball cricket was not easy. The grip was different. The release was different. The ball behaved differently.Bishworjit had to learn everything from scratch. But years of boxing have made him physically strong and mentally resilient. He quickly adapted to the demands of fast bowling.After playing in local tournaments, Bishworjit started making a name for himself in Manipur. He represented the state at U-23 level before getting the big break he was waiting for.He made his first-class debut for Manipur against Sikkim in 2018.There was no looking back after that.

Manipur’s wicket machine

Bishworjit made an immediate impact in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season. He finished as Manipur’s highest wicket-taker, picking up 30 wickets in just eight matches. He was also among the top 10 in goals in the country that season.He has since become one of the most successful cricketers from the state.The right-arm medium pacer has played 48 first-class matches, 49 List A matches and 46 T20 matches. He took 147 wickets in first-class cricket, including three five-wicket hauls. He also has 66 List A wickets and 46 T20 wickets.He was also Manipur’s leading wicket-taker in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy.In the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he produced a memorable haul of seven wickets, including a hat-trick, against Nagaland.Bishworjit also took five wickets against Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in the Ranji Trophy.He became the first fast bowler from the North-East Zone to take more than 100 first-class wickets and the second player overall from the region to achieve the mark. He was also the first player from the North East to take more than 50 wickets in List A cricket.Today, Bishworjit is the leading wicket-taker from the Northeast zone across all three formats.His journey also took him beyond India when he became the first cricketer from Manipur to play for Tynemouth Cricket Club in England.

Bowling on the slopes and in the rain

Bishworjit’s journey was far from easy. Before Manipur became a full member of the BCCI and entered India’s major domestic tournaments, the state had limited cricket facilities.Finding the right place to practice was a big challenge for the fast bowler.Manipur also experiences heavy rains for several months every year, making regular outdoor exercise difficult.Bishworjit and other young cricketers had to find their own ways to train.“Before 2018, we didn’t have many facilities. In Manipur, it rains heavily from June to September, so exercise was very difficult,” he said.

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Share an opinion“Sometimes we practiced on the slopes because we felt running uphill could help us build strength and develop more pace. After the rain, we sanded the wet areas to make the surface usable and then started bowling again.”According to him, the situation has now changed significantly.BCCI has helped improve cricket infrastructure in the state, players now have access to better training facilities.“Things have changed a lot. BCCI has done a great job for cricket in Manipur and provided us with much better facilities,” he said.“Life is a lot easier for young cricketers now. They have facilities that we didn’t have when we started.”

Meeting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

North East Zone lost the Duleep Trophy quarter-final but Bishworjit still wanted to meet Sooryavanshi after the match.A 30-year-old man walked towards the East Zone locker room and met a teenager. They shared a smile and shook hands.Bishworjit watched Sooryavanshi closely during his rise in the IPL, the Under-19 World Cup and international cricket.“He is a very nice boy and he has a special talent. I have watched him in IPL, U19 World Cup and India. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable,” said Bishworjit.“But I also told him that red-ball cricket requires patience. You have to give yourself some time at the crease.”Sooryavanshi showed his attacking style by hitting Bishworjit for two boundaries before the pacer got his wicket.For the Manipur bowlers, it was a small example of the difference between white-ball and red-ball cricket.“He had a lot of time to bat. That’s the difference between red-ball and white-ball cricket,” said Bishworjit.“Patience is very important in red-ball cricket. You can’t play every ball like in white-ball cricket. We talked about cricket and exchanged some thoughts,” he said.