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Chakdaha, a very tiny town in the Nadia district of West Bengal, is known to the cricketing world for a very special player. It is Jhulan Goswami, who made Chakdaha famous with fiery spells all around the globe, wearing the Blue jersey of India.
When Jhulan was breaking records in women's cricket, another speedster from Chakdaha dreamt of breaking stumps and records too. Sayan Ghosh, known as Bengal's Malinga, saw ups and downs from the start of his cricketing career. But, like his swinging yorkers, Sayan never swayed away from his targets.
Ghosh last played a Ranji Trophy game way back in 2017. In 6 first-class games, he has two five-wicket hauls. Still, he was never called back to the Ranji Trophy, team until this season. The reason is his incredible comeback into the white ball side for Bengal.
Sayan Ghosh's incredible season in white-ball format
Sayan was always called the "White Ball" specialist due to his ability to hit yorkers and variations. However, with bowlers like Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Porel and Akash Deep doing well, he found himself out of the side in the last few seasons. But, his will to keep doing well at the club level, helped him make another comeback to the Bengal side.
This season, Sayan Ghosh was the highest wicket-taker for Bengal in both Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, he returned with 13 wickets from 7 games at an outstanding economy rate of 6.77.
Bengal wins the thriller against Chandigarh and marches forward to the semi finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.
— KKR ULTRAS (@KKRUltras) December 9, 2024
Former KKR bowler Sayan Ghosh was the star of the show as he picked up 4 wickets and defended 11 runs of the final over that helped Bengal come out on top. pic.twitter.com/ZdOl4soLSt
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the stats were even better as he capped off the season with 15 wickets from 7 games which included a five-wicket haul against Kerala. Post, his outstanding white-ball return, Sayan was included in the Ranji Trophy squad for the final two games of the season.
Read Also | Bengal Ranji Team in Last Three Seasons: 13 opening combinations, 22 debutants and many more numbers
"Nothing as sweet as a comeback:" Sayan Ghosh
After his remarkable resurgence in domestic cricket, Sportz Point sat with the 32-year-old pacer to sense his thoughts.
Talking about his return to the Bengal team, Sayan started the conversation by saying, "It is always a pleasure to represent Bengal. And there is nothing as sweet as a comeback when you are down and about to lose. Performing well for the team feels great."
Ex-KKR pacer Sayan Ghosh in action for @Mohun_Bagan
— Koushik Biswas (@kbofficial25) November 28, 2023
Does his action resemble anyone? #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/mPaLkt1Rr5
Impact of Bengal Pro T20 League
Sayan feels, along with doing well for Mohun Bagan in the club format, the Bengal Pro T20 League has helped him be in the best form possible.
"I must say, performance in BPL gave me confidence," Sayan told Sportz Point.
"I didn’t take too much pressure for the whole season because I knew if I did well, I would play. I had belief in myself. Captain Sudip (Gharami), coaches Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) da and Maco (Shib Shankar Paul) da gave confidence. So, I didn’t take a lot of pressure."
Focusing on the basics
A few seasons back, Sayan had a longer run-up which caused him a few injuries. But, post the 2022 season, he shortened his run-up to avoid such injuries which helped him gain more control. Keeping this in mind, Sportz Point wanted to know if he had done anything special to prepare for this grand comeback.
However, as per Sayan, he just kept doing the basic things over and over to get better at everything. "I do lots of fitness work and spot bowling. It helps me a lot," Sayan added while answering the question.
"Trust in GOD"
Regardless of how, for a sportsperson, a comeback is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical battle. Back in 2022, in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point, Sayan shared that "rejections do not deject him."
But, saying that and actually having that mental strength are two different things altogether. For Sayan, it was all about being present and believing in God.
"There comes a time in every sportsman's life when they stop worrying about the outcome, trust in God, and fully immerse themselves in the process. So, that was my thinking just to be in the present and wait for my turn," Sayan expressed.
During tough periods like these, players always get some people clapping and cheering for them. For Sayan, along with his family, there were a few people, who guided and supported him throughout the process.
"Maco da (Shib Shankar Paul) and Kanchan (Maity) da gave me chances in BPL And Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) da helped me and gave me a chance to come back in Bengal Cricket."
"I must say about Akash da, one of my colleagues in my office, who is a very good bowler himself. He supported me in every aspect of my life. I think without his support, I could not have made the come back like that," Sayan stated.
Age? Not a problem
But, in this process of being in and out of the team, Sayan has reached an age where most cricketers start to reach the end of their careers. But, not all.
Cricketers like Scott Boland have proved that, if you can keep putting in the hard work, even as a fast bowler you can debut and play at the highest level even after 30. Sayan believes that too.
"Hope keeps us alive. I don’t think a lot about the outcome. But, when you have a goal to achieve something big in your professional career, you always stay motivated," the 32-year-old shared.
"There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and about to lose. If you are thinking about a comeback, you have to keep pushing the boundaries. I have small targets to do well in club cricket and give Mohunbagan trophies. I want to make a strong impact in Bengal Cricket in every format."
The love for "Red Cherry"
Now, after a great white-ball return, Sayan Ghosh wants to don the whites for Bengal again. Amidst all the success around white-ball cricket, his love for red-ball cricket remained the same; like a 10-year-old with a new ball in hand.
"We are playing well in all formats, especially in the Ranji trophy. It was unfortunate for us not to qualify despite playing well in the group stages. The Bihar match and the Kerala match were gone because of the rain and that was the reason (we could not qualify).
"The last time I played a Ranji Trophy game was in 2017. I have played 6 matches and got two five-wicket hauls. However, because of certain team combinations, I haven't played red-ball cricket in a long time now.
"My belief is always there to make a strong comeback in red ball cricket."