Imtiaz Ahmed/Guwahati

Once, cricket in Assam was confined to Guwahati and Jorhat. However, of late Barpeta has emerged as “the fast bowler factory of Assam”. The credit for this goes to spiker-turned-cricketer Javed Akhtar Khan of Varanasi who came to Assam to play Ranji Trophy and has since become a successful coach.

Javed Akhter, the former national volleyball player from Uttar Pradesh, shifted to Assam in the early 2000s to pursue his dream to become a successful medium pace bowler in the game of cricket. Though he managed to make it to Assam XI in the limited-overs version of the game, he couldn’t make it to first class cricket (Ranji Trophy).

Trained as a spiker in the UP-Government’s sports college, Khan represented his home state in the junior national championship. “However, my passion was cricket. I got a job in TISCO as a volleyball player where I came in contact with cricketers such as Syed Saba Karim and a few others who recognized my potential and encouraged me to pursue a career in cricket. I was indeed in the reckoning for the Bihar team at that time,” Khan told Awaz-The Voice in an exclusive interview.

Javed Akhter Khan coaching young cricketers

However, destiny had some other plan for him. He took voluntary retirement from TISCO. “I joined South East Railway in Odisha and later on got transferred to East Coast Railway. However, there was not much scope for my cricket pursuit. So, I shifted base to Barpeta where I started playing club cricket and represented the district at the state level. I eventually got married to a local girl there,” he said.

“After playing for Assam in the senior national one-days, the then Assam Cricket Association (ACA) secretary Bikash Baruah took the initiative of setting up cricket academies in the districts and he recommended me to Barpeta District Sports Association (BDSA) to be used as a coach to train up young talents. Later on, I left my job in Railways to set up a permanent academy at Barpeta Road to train up players from Pathshala, Nalbari, and Bijni areas where I could see a lot of talent potential,” Khan recalled.

His hArd work bore fruit with two of Assam’s most prolific pacers, Krishna Das and Arup Das of Barpeta, making the headlines in Indian cricket playing for Assam in Ranji Trophy. They were followed by the likes of Kangkon Das, Amlanjyoti Das, Kishore Das, Danish Das, and others coached by Khan.

“I don’t have any regrets for missing a berth in the Assam Ranji team, because I have achieved something more as a coach, and I have bigger dreams for Assam,” Khan said.

Javed Akhter coaching young cricketers

“Although I have never got an opportunity to be trained at National Cricket Academy as a coach, my grooming as a volleyball player under foreign coaches has helped me a lot. My mantra is fitness.

Fast bowlers need great fitness and I emphasize more on it. That is why most of my produces manage to play on for a longer time,” the 49-year-old said, adding: “I would like to thank BDSA secretary Sanatan Das here for maintaining strict discipline among the players.”

About Assam players failing to cut senior India team, he said: “It is primarily due to lack of mental build-up. When one aims to play only for Assam or East Zone, he can achieve only that much with his best effort. But, when one aims to don the blues gives sincere and dedicated efforts, nobody can stop him. Our players use only the coaching programmes of ACA. They do not take personal initiatives to groom themselves during the off-season. Nor do they use the indoor cricket facilities during the rainy season. You cannot make it to Team India with six months of cricket in a year.”