“If you want something the whole world conspires in helping you achieve it”.
Prashant Rana is an exemplary person whose passion for cricket and hard work lead him to where he is today.
Not only did he work for hours in the scorching sun but also cleaned dirty and smelly drains, repaired pipes to meet his needs. Undoubtedly, he came a long way to reach where he is today by working hard and diligently. Now, he will be representing Odisha in the upcoming Ranji Trophy tournament to be held in Ahmedabad next week.
Prashant hails from Madhapur, a remote village in Nayagarh district. He is 24 years old. He has been fond of cricket since childhood. His father is a priest in the Shiva temple in the village. The elder brother is an agricultural labourer. The father, who passed away in poverty, was not in a position to fulfill his son’s dreams. However, Prashant had already started making a name for himself in village-level cricket tournaments and also played tennis-ball cricket during his school days.
Prashant said “I was so attached to cricket that after appearing for class X board exams in the morning, I used to go straight to play a tournament in the afternoon. Fellow villagers asked my father and brother to send me to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack for proper training.”
In 2012, he started working in a private company investigating fire safety measures in hotels. For which he used to get 14000 rupees a month. This amount was enough to live in Bhubaneswar and play cricket, but this work used to take his whole day, there was no time for practice. After this the family itself started sending 2000 rupees per month. But my father suddenly fell ill and stopped getting money from home.
I started working as an assistant with a plumber for Rs 210 per day. For this I also had to work all day, but I talked about working for half a day and I was only paid half day’s salary. He used to cycle 40 km daily between his rented house and the cricket ground of Union Sporting Club. His hard work paid off. He was selected for Nayagarh district team. He captained the district team in the Kalahandi Cup. “Prashant is a great cricketer. He has worked hard on his swing and pace. He picks up the ball quickly after pitching it. He was called to the state level selection camp in October 2021, where his bowling impressed the selectors.