Pacing it right

He is a right arm medium pace bowler and left-handed batsman, a unique combination which he believes is his strength. Ashdin Readymoney started playing cricket at the age of 11, training initially at Khar Gymkhana and the Lions Club. "As a youngster the main thing that drew me to cricket was the constant changing of channels by my father Jesse who wanted to see a cricket match while I watched cartoons!” says the 18-year-old. His familiarity with the game grew gradually. The hype surrounding the one day international ICC World Cup in South Africa in 2003 had him hooked!

"I got into the Elf Vengsarkar Academy when I was in the ninth standard and played with them for three years at Under-16 and Under-19 level,” he narrates. While playing in a tournament for the Dadar Parsi Colony his talent was spotted by discerning members of the Parsee Cyclists Sports Club. "I recently played for Parsee Cyclists in the Kanga League. (The Dr Hormasji Dorabji Kanga Memorial Cricket League is an inter-club tournament played during the muddy monsoon months in Bombay. It has since its inauguration in 1948 helped hundreds of budding cricketers hone their skills, both in terms of technique and temperament due to the slushy and difficult conditions.) I was also training under Umesh Patwal (batting coach of the Afghanistan team which took part in the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September). As a cricketer the thing which always requires improvement is fitness and stamina which I really need to work hard on,” he asserts.

Currently studying in SY (second year) BCom at Mithibai College, Readymoney has captained both his school (Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School at Juhu) and college teams. "The main form of support has always been my parents, in terms of cricket mainly through dad helping me to make the correct decisions, giving that extra push and also being besides me during failures. He is a businessman and runs a firm called Right Resources which provides all housekeeping (corporate support) services. He has also recently started interior designing. My mom Farida has always been taking care of the academic aspects.” Ashdin’s younger sister Dinaz completes the family circle. "I plan to do a sports management course and an MBA in future,” Ashdin declares.