India celebrates fast bowler Shivam Mavi’s debut and a family’s dream comes true after 4 long years

VIDEOS OF his family cheering in front of the TV at their home in the National Capital Region have started circulating on social media. A YouTube channel for farmers has done a special segment on his ancestral home in Seena village of Meerut. And, sweets, dry fruits and extra cups of tea greet the steady stream of visitors.
On Tuesday night, the first call that 24-year-old fast bowler Shivam Mavi made — after taking four wickets on his India debut in the T20 win against Sri Lanka — was to his family in Noida’s Sector 52. The celebrations have not stopped since then.

Mavi’s father Pankaj, a retired contractor, is busy answering endless calls from politicians, friends and relatives, telling them about the “goosebumps” he felt after each of his son’s wickets.
Mavi, a 2018 Under-19 World Cup winner and a rising star of IPL, had to bide his time to graduate to the senior team because of injuries. But Tuesday’s dream start, with a spell of four for 22, has made the wait worth it, says Pankaj.
“Our son has played in the IPL and we are thankful for that. But we were also looking forward to the day when he is handed the India cap. He realised early that injuries were going to be part of his life. Before he was selected for the Under-19 World Cup squad, he suffered a ligament tear in his knee and missed a year of cricket. Some of his team mates (Under-19) made their India debut before him but he never lost hope. He would just say that he needed to work harder,” Pankaj says.
Shivam Mavi’s father Pankaj, mother Kavita (2nd from right) and ser Shalu (second from left) at their Noida Sector 52 home on Wednesday (Credit: Express Photo)
According to the family, Mavi’s first bat was a “thaapi” or the wooden paddle used while washing clothes. Those were the days when washing machines weren’t a thing in Seena, a farming village. And Mavi, then about four years old, spent his days knocking around a plastic ball and running around barefoot.
Batting was Mavi’s first love when his father moved to Noida in the early 2000s in search of better opportunities for his two children, Mavi and his ser Shalu.
A young Shivam Mavi during a prize dribution ceremony. (Credit: Special arrangement)
“He used to play gully cricket. A neighbour asked me to enroll him in an academy because he had talent,” Pankaj says. “He would only watch cricket on TV, be it old matches or highlights. We knew where his heart was,” Mavi’s mother Kavita says.
The switch to formal coaching helped discover his real talent.

Mavi joined Wonders Cricket Club over a decade ago, where coach Phoolchand Sharma noticed his “natural run-up”. “When he batted, he seemed a little reserved but when he started bowling he was full of josh. The inswinger came naturally and he was quick for his age. I saw a fast bowler in him. When he was just 14, he bowled for our club against the Nepal national team during an invitational tournament. He took four wickets then, too, and I knew this boy would one day play for India,” coach Sharma says.
Mavi with coach Phoolchand of Wonders Cricket Club. (Special Arrangement)
The prediction came true as Mavi was one of the stars of the Under-19 World Cup-winning team of 2018 captained Prithvi Shaw. He clocked in the high 140s, prompting former India captain Sourav Ganguly to tag Virat Kohli and V V S Laxman, telling them “to keep an eye on two under-19 quicks”, Mavi and fellow pacer Kamlesh Nagarkotti.
Soon, an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders and a hefty paycheque came Mavi’s way. But while his junior Indian team mates Shaw, Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh made their senior debut, Mavi had to battle a stress fracture of his back a year after the U-19 final.
The family now hopes injury-breaks are a thing of the past. “It would be great if he plays for a long time for the Indian team, like one of his idols Dale Steyn,” father Pankaj says.
Coach Sharma wants Mavi to be a “lambi race ka ghoda”. “Pace is not everything. Mavi has developed an outswinger, too. He has a good slower ball and a bouncer also. He has also learnt the value of bowling wicket to wicket. He can be an asset for the Indian team.”