Left Kanpur home at 15, Kumar Kartikeya has arrived

Kumar Kartikeya, the standout bowler for the MP side with five wickets, had left home nine years ago, vowing, “Kuchh kar ke hi lautunga.” He was 15 then. When TOI caught up with him in the euphoria of MP’s historic win, Kartikeya said: “It’s been nine years, two months and three days. I have not met my parents in all this time.” So, has he 'arrived'? Will he go home now? He has professional commitments he needs to take care of, said the left-arm spinner.

“I think it will take a while longer. I will meet them only when I have 20-25 days to spend at home. I haven’t seen them for so long,” said Kartikeya.

When TOI called his father Shyamnath Singh, a head constable with UP Police, he became emotional. “I am a father, I can hold myself together. But his mother is very emotional.

Only the phone keeps us connected. We are desperately waiting for him,” said Singh. He is posted in Jhansi and the family lives in Kanpur.

Asked why Kartikeya left home at such an early age, Singh said, “When he was not selected for UP’s under-16 team, he left home with a promise that he would return only when he had made his name in cricket.” Kartikeya said: “I left home as I was a little stubborn. Yes, I told my parents that I would go home only when I make a name in cricket. I even worked in a tyre factory for my livelihood when I was in Delhi.

Those were hard days, but I have no regrets.” He worked as a night labourer, walked miles every day to save Rs 10 on bus fare, and went without lunch for a whole year. But the hunger pangs never overcame his hunger for success. After leaving home, he went to Delhi in 2015 and met his friend Radhey, who was playing local cricket then.