Ahmedabad: Like hundreds of others who would ply their trade in the very competitive Kanga League during Mumbai monsoons, Sunil Tambe also nurtured a dream of making it big in professional cricket. But just like hundreds of dream gets crushed in Mumbai by the second, Tambe knew that it’s a arduous road with no guarantees as he decided to concentrate on academics.
Saturday evening, the current Assistant Commissioner of Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) must have tried to conceal an entire gamut of emotions that he felt when he watched his teenager son Kaushal get a wicket for India U-19 in the World Cup final against England.
“I basically played university level and Kanga-level cricket for Mumbai, but I could not make a career in it. I had wished that my son should do something in cricket and he did it,” Tambe senior, a veteran cop, who has been a part of ATS for last one-and-half years said.
So has ever Kaushal felt worried about the nature of his job and his security as he deals with criminals? “No, never ever has Kaushal been jittery about my security,” Tambe, whose wife is an advocate, said.
It was Tambe senior’s passion that his son imbibed early and aspired to become a cricketer. “To make him fond of sports, when he was three- and-half-years old, we got him admitted to skating. He did well for four years and won many national medals, and then when he was nine years-old, we admitted him to PYC for cricket, where he got basics from Pawan Kulkarni,” informed Tambe.
“Then we applied for selection for Cadence Cricket Academy (CCA) and he was included as a bowler. So when I asked Surendra Bhave (former national selector and Ranji legend) and Harshal Pathank, why they included him as a bowler, they said that we know, he bats well, but he will become a good spinner. What he is today is because of Cadence,” Tambe senior said.
So, what was the turning point of Kaushal’s career and his father says becoming captain of the U-16 West Zone team. “In 2019, Kaushal, who studies in the famed SP college, was appointed as the West Zone captain, after which he was selected for NCA camp, where he got to learn many things and I think that was the turning point,” added the senior cop.
Kaushal has come up the ranks by playing age-group level cricket. “In 2017, he scored 169 against Saurashtra and then against Gujarat he scored a double hundred, and became the first person from the state to do so at his age group, after that he scored a triple hundred at the U-16 level, which was a history for a Maharashtra player and then he did not look back,” Tambe was pleased as punch while narrating his son’s stellar show.
Kaushal, who is an off-spinner, is now guided by Harshad Patil and currently trains at two academies. He was also supported by his school ‘The Bishops’ and now the SP College.
Kaushal has always been backed by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and his role models as far as fitness is concerned are Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. He is an avid sports autobiography reader and loves reading about Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni’s lives.
After his duty hours, Tambe helped Kaushal hone his skills, having set up a practice turf at their residence in Pune. Last but not the least, Kaushal’s mother, who is an advocate, sacrificed her professional career for her son and is reaping the benefits now.
For Kaushal, there was another mentor, who has played an important in his life – veteran cricket journalist Sunandan Lele, who has been one of his advisors.