From selling vegetables to working in a tyre company, giving his mother the slip in between to play cricket and finally being discussed at national team selection meetings. Sounds like a Hindi movie script, but it isn't. This is the real life story of Santosh Ramesh Saxena, a tearaway fast bowler from Mumbai.

The 24-year-old Saxena used to bowl quick in tennis ball cricket tournaments in a Bombay suburb, leading his team to victory. He was very much the hero of local cricket, but his mother felt he was wasting his time. She was of the view that he would be better of lending a helping hand to his poverty stricken family. But this did not stop Saxena from playing the game he loved, in the process earning some prize money for his petty expenses.

Fate has been cruel to the young man. He had a double blow, the first when he lost his father early forcing him to join his mother in selling vegetables. Later, he lost his elder brother and this forced Saxena to quit the game and work with a tyre company to earn a living. But this was only temporary. The passion for cricket saw Saxena return to play the game for another local club. This was the turning point in his career.

Since then his has been a steady rise. He advanced from playing club and league matches to division cricket. Finally he was noticed by former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar while playing a benefit match. This was three seasons ago. Since then there has been no looking back.

In due course, Saxena represented the state. He made his debut against Gujarat in the 1997-98 Ranji season. Inspite of speedsters like Agarkar, Mhambrey and Kuruvilla in the team, Saxena with his sheer pace found a place for himself. Though in and out of the team, Saxena has been amongst the wickets throughout the last few seasons and only this month took five for 56 against Rajasthan in the Super League. Of late Saxena's name has come up for discussion at the national selection committee meetings.

Saxena's steady but impressive growth has helped him and his family to settle down to a better life. It is apt here to quote Booker T Washington - "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." Santosh Saxena indeed has seen it all in his young life.

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