THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Today was a day when India as a whole was looking forward to cricket. The Ranji Trophy, the country's premier domestic tournament, marked its beginning after a two years of Covid induced gap. Kerala cricket was also looking forward to this day. The reason being Sreesanth, who was banned from cricket following a match - fixing scandal, returned today.
But in today's match against Meghalaya, Kerala's fast bowler Eden Apple Tom, a 16 - year - old boy, won the hearts of the fans. One by one, the Meghalaya players got out to the deliveries of Eden, one of the fastest bowlers in the Kerala team. Eden took four wickets in his debut match today.
Eden's performance did not improve overnight. Eight years ago, in Sharjah, former Kerala captain Sony Cheruvathur discovered the little Eden's brilliance. Sony Cheruvathur told Kerala Kaumudi that Eden's bowling error, that he bowled on the wrong foot, was rectified in the first day itself. But later when Sony shifted his cricket training to Kerala, Eden's training also came to a standstill. But realizing his son's ability, father Apple Tom made a decision. He moved to Thiruvananthapuram to nurture his son's talent in cricket. He Tom quit his job in Sharjah and moved into a house with his three children. Apple Tom started living a floor above Sony Cheruvathur's Academy in Thiruvananthapuram. Eden's mother, an official at Sharjah Airport, stayed there.
Sony says that Eden, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram three years ago, quickly adapted to the conditions here. "Normally we don't put on a pad or helmet when training kids, but we would jokingly say we should wear at least two helmets when facing his balls," Sony said. Sony recalls that the pitch at the academy was rebuilt at a cost of lakhs after other coaches complained that Eden's balls caused them pain when it hit their body and that it was due to a malfunction of the pitch. "After the pitch was rebuilt, the pain did not go away when Eden's balls hit their body. It was only later that the coaches realized that the problem was only when Eden bowled," Sony added.
Sony says Eden's study was more a bigger concern than his cricket career last year. Eden was disappointed that he did not get selected in the Under-19 team. He was also in the tenth standard and even him getting pass marks was not sure. Sony sought the help of his wife, who is also a teacher. Sony says with a laugh that Eden has given his wife a new experience to her, as she is accustomed to seeing children who studies well.
Sony has said that Eden's fitness training under the athletics coach Shanavas for the past six to seven months has been extremely rewarding for him. The coach said that Eden has not done any weight training since he was only 16 years old but he had started training at the gym a few days ago. "As a result, Eden has improved a lot in speed and fitness and can still see the results", Sony said.