A seven -year -old Sheikh Rashid was taken to a summer camp in Apple for cricket, with around 300 others who were doubled. His father, Sheikh Balisha Wali was soon called by coaches and told about his son’s incredible batting abilities and persuaded his son to give full -time coaching.
“Earlier, I didn’t know he was talented, but after that, I took him daily to practice and brought him back home,” Balisha Wali told the Indian Express. Under AG Prasad, Rashid respected his batting skills and returned to trial in his hometown Guntur, where he would be selected in favor of U-12 Andhra state as well as U-16 Guntur district side immediately.
Soon, there came a moment when the father was worried whether his young son is ready. This came when he was selected for the ACA Academy, one in only 20 players. “Balisha Wali recalled the academy Krishna Rao’s head coach as he was worried about the welfare of his child.
He said, “I told him (Krishna Rao) he still takes him to bed,” he says with a laugh. “He was very young at that time and the academy was in Mangalgiri. I was in two minds whether I should join him or not, and then I consulted Krishna Rao.”
Sheikh Rashid with AG Prasad. (Special arrangement)
Coach Krishna Rao talked about the feature that impressed him the most. Krishna Rao said, “At the age of nine, he had a good ball. After looking at the ball, one should know if they have to go to the backfoot or go to the frontfoot, he is the ball sense, and he had it,” Krishna Rao explains why he placed nine -year -old Rashid in the U -14 age group.
Soon, Rashid was leading the teams. “He was also captain at all state levels in age-group cricket,” says Gaddam Venkat Sarath Babu. “When MSK Prasad was the Director of Operations in Andhra Cricket, he sent two players to the UK. From Nellore, he picked up Revantha Reddy, and with him, he also sent Rashid,” Sarath Babu misses. He was sent to the Durham Cricket Academy in Newcastle at the age of 11. The three -month journey not only improved his batting, but also his life skills.
Sharat Babu talked about Rashid’s unique training. “Rashid mostly plays on unprotected wickets. These wickets will be uneven. Even on such wickets, he will practice for an hour every day.”
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Even when Rashid’s cricket dream was taking wings, the father, who worked in the State Bank of India, switched to a private job in the Bajaj showroom to allow him to take care of his son. But it did not last long.
“I was putting a lot of leaves on my job, people gave me an ultimatum: If you want to do it, do it properly or leave it, so I left.” I had to take care of Rashid to take matches in Chennai, Vizag and Hyderabad. At that age, Rashid needed me, ”says Balish Wali.
And so he moved to his hometown Guntur, which was about 40 km from the academy in Mangalgiri. But soon the academy was transferred to Kadapa, and the father had to make an option. The Kadapa Academy had already chosen players like Nitish Kumar Reddy (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and some other promising youth. The father said, “If we had sent him (Kadapa Academy), he would have been one of the 20-30 members, but Rashid would get special attention here, it was my intention to stay in Mangalgiri,” the father says.
Although school facilities and hostel facilities were also removed from the academy, the responsibility fell to Balisha Wali to pay for everything and also to take his son 40 km up and down.
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“I started working as a daily wage employee in the vegetable market, to sell vegetables and fruits. I used to ensure that I could earn 600-800 every day for a small petty job,” Balisha Wali said.
Sheikh Rashid in England. (Special arrangement)
It was only after Rashid was selected for India’s U -19 World Cup as Vice -Captain in 2022, the prize money was received to win the trophy that his financial problems began to decrease. Balisha Wali Beams said, “When he went to that World Cup, he scored 13 hundreds at the state level.”
In 2023, he was selected for 20 lakhs by Chennai Super Kings. “We were informed by CSK that they would take him to the auction. We were told that they were chasing him for U-16 days. As soon as he won the U-19 World Cup, he chose it. Before CSK, Rashid’s game was made around Raksha. After going there, he learned the attacker game. He introduced me to MS Dhuni in 2023.
This was when Dhoni said to the father: “Leave Rashid’s career for us. We like his discipline and game very much. Leave his career with us, just take care of his fitness and give him good food when he comes home”.
