Abhishek Jhunjhunwala of Rajasthan Royals battled bad times, learnt from them and came out on top.

Text: Prerna Raturi
Photographs: Sayantan Sarkar

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala would have been just another lad who grew up wanting to be a cricketer — until reality got in the way, that is. As the years went by, school assignments would have taken priority, there would not have been enough time for sports, and later there would’ve been the parental pressure to take over the family business. But not for Jhunjhunwala; things turned out quite differently. His father, who owns a timber business in Burrabazar-the nucleus of commercial Kolkata-was his driving force while his two elder brothers supported him wholeheartedly in his decision. “I think I got away with a lot because I am the youngest and my entire family let me chase my dream,” smiles Jhunjhunwala.

His father had played cricket in his younger days until work and other commitments took over. Likewise, his brothers even played at the club level, until they had to lend a hand to their father’s business. So when Abhishek took up the game the entire family joined hands to let him follow his dream. “But then my family is extremely cued in on sports. My mother follows cricket, soccer, and tennis with the same fervour as any of us,” he says.