When Keith Pinto took the advice of his coach to switch from being a fast bowler to a spinner it was a difficult challenge – but one that he relished. Now the hard work is paying off after the 15-year-old was selected for state academy trials in India.
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Earlier this month, the Dubai Indian High School student travelled to a two-day district trial in Mangalore, organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association in their hunt for fresh talent. And after making the cut, the Maxway Global Academy player revealed he’s glad he listened to his coach Kiran Patil, even though it wasn’t easy to make the transition two years ago.
Interestingly, Pinto also found inspiration from analysing videos of New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori who, like the aspiring schoolboy, bowls left-arm spin.
“I began playing as a fast bowler but my coach Kiran asked me to switch to spin because left-arm spinners are very rare and he felt I could get more wickets,” explained Pinto, who took up playing cricket at the tender age of four.
“I was finding it tough at first because the techniques are so different. The balls used to fall well short of the wicket and I couldn’t bowl a normal spin delivery.
“I was in two minds whether to bowl fast or to focus on spin but after watching Vettori’s videos, I made up my mind that I wanted to be a left-arm spinner.”
With his sights set on taking his cricket as far as he can, Pinto had no hesitation to travel to Mangalore after being invited by Samuel Jayaraj from the Karnataka association.
“He (Samuel) told me to come there and try my luck,” added Pinto. “I felt it was the right time because I thought it would be a great experience.”
Competition at the trials was tough with more than 100 budding fast bowlers and spinners, ranging from age 14 to 22. Under the watchful eye of the coaches, Pinto was tested on his ability to pitch the ball on marked crosses on the wicket.
“When I bowled the ball on a good length, a coach clapped and that gave me a lot of confidence. I bowled around 15 balls and 13 of them were in line,” he said.
His performance impressed the coaches and he was one of just 14 bowlers to be selected for the next stage.
He will now return to India in April for a three-week camp and train alongside some of the best young talents from the Karnataka state at the 36,000-seater M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
“This is a dream for me,” said Pinto. “I will be putting in a lot of practice from now until I go to India and will try my very best.”
While he thanks his coaches, his cricket development wouldn’t have been possible without the support of his mother, Fatima.
“My mum has done everything for me since I started playing cricket,” he explained. “She is my inspiration.”
