"Ashirvad Narayan Playing Cricket" by Bangkok Cricket league, 2023
Ashirvad Narayan, more commonly known as Ash, is a 9th grader studying at the International School Bangkok. He is from India. Ash was introduced to cricket at a very young age. His dad’s friend played cricket and recommended it to Ash. Cricket was first recorded in South East England in the middle of the 16th century. With the first international matches played in the latter half of the 19th century, it moved across the globe along with the British Empire's growth. Once Ash found the game, he loved both hitting the ball and watching the sport. Ashirvad continued to play cricket, and eventually, he started playing professionally. Ash plays three days a week, three hours twice, and one full day for a match. Every Sunday, he goes to the cricket grounds and plays games with adults. Even though he is 14, Ash plays in u16, u19, and state cricket.
He plays in the Thai premier league as a batsman. In cricket, there are two teams with 11 players each. The team captain who wins the toss chooses to bowl or bat first. Teams hope to amass as many runs as possible while preventing the opposing side from exceeding that number. There are two batsmen at a time, and the batsman being bowled tries to hit the ball away from the wicket ("Rules of Cricket").
From Hua Hin in Thailand to Chennai in India, whenever there is a school break, Ash travels to these states to play cricket. However, this schedule makes it hard in Ash’s daily life. He comes home at 11 most days after training or games and needs to wake up at 5:30 for school. Cricket affects his everyday life by not providing enough time for school and extracurricular activities. Ash has less sleep, less time for homework, and less time to hang out with friends. Nevertheless, Ash loves playing cricket no matter the setbacks. Cricket is very important to Ash because "It allows me to forget about everything in life and play and enjoy the game." Ash has learned much from cricket, such as responsibility, leadership, and teamwork.
Ash's most significant cricket achievement was his acceptance to play in the Bangkok Cricket League. The Bangkok Cricket League was founded 20 years ago in 2002 and is challenging. It has three divisions—Premier division(highest), A division, and B division. The association is run and funded independently by a dedicated group of members. Ash is in the premier division and plays for Mahidol CC. Ash hopes to compete in professional cricket leagues and hopes to play for Thailand's u16 and u19 teams. Ultimately, cricket makes Ash's life more complicated, but happier, providing plenty of reason to continue pursuing this passion.