The story of Robin Minz – A fan of MS Dhoni who became IPL's first Tribal player
(Photo: Instagram/rob_in_13_)
“Aur poochiye mat, sir. Subah se media waale lagey huye hain. Bas thoda waqt dijiye, hum yahaan airport mein mithaai baant kar baat karte hain. (Media has been after me since morning. Just give me some time, I will speak to you after distributing sweets at the airport),” said a frenetic Francis Xavier Minz, while speaking to The Quint.
The process – if one can call it that – which he has been enduring since the last few days, has been experienced by fathers of every cricketer who went from obscurity to fame overnight. With rags-to-riches narratives being rife, innumerable interviews, and regurgitation of the same answers, were par for the course.
The story is of his son, Robin Minz, who is the first tribal player to make it to the Indian Premier League (IPL). In three months, he will be seen playing for Gujarat Titans, on a Rs 3.60 crore contract.
Cricketer Robin Minz with his parents.
Years before Robin knew anything about cricket, Francis – who was then working in the Indian Army’s 9 Bihar Regiment – recognised his son’s special talent by watching him play gilli danda (an indigenous sport having similarities to cricket).
That, however, was not alluring for long.
Of the two reasons Francis had to risk everything in Robin’s cricketing journey, the predominant one was his unfulfilled dream of becoming a professional footballer.
“I used to be a footballer. Back in Gumla, where I am originally from, only the elites played cricket. Ab hum thehre Dehaati aadmi, humare pahuch mein cricket kahaan? (I am from a tribal family, cricket is not within my grasp). So I played football, and I was great at it,” Francis reminisces.
And then, he narrates how a photograph, or the lack of it, prevented him from plausibly becoming a professional footballer.
The second reason was in complete contrast to the first.
Fuelling Robin’s fire, beyond everything else, was a cricketer from Jharkhand ruling the international circuit. The teenager, like everyone else in his vicinity to ever pick up the bat, wanted to emulate Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
‘Is Robin a Dhoni fan?’ we ask Francis.
Then, he narrates what happened when he met Dhoni at the airport, whilst on duty, before the auction.
At the age of 16, Robin – with much zeal, but not as much technical prowess – arrived in Ranchi’s Sonnet Cricket Club, run by the trio of Ashif Haque, Shiv Gautam and Chanchal Bhattacharya.
What propelled him to become an emerging starlet in only a few years – as his coach Ashif Haque tells The Quint – is his unflinching dedication.
Robin Minz with coach Ashif Haque.
Robin at the Sonnet Cricket Academy.
For both Francis and Ashif, an IPL contract for Robin was foreseeable. What wasn’t, however, was the amount for which Gujarat Titans signed him.
Echoing similar feelings, Ashif says “I knew he would get picked, because he was called for trials by every team and he did well. But no one could have predicted the amount he got. After the auction, Robin himself could not believe it.”
On being asked about what makes Robin a highly sought-after cricketer, he explains “Every IPL team needs players who can score runs quickly, because this is what T20 cricket is all about. Robin excels at that. He can play big shots and be a match-winner for his team.”
At the Sonnet Cricket Club, Robin’s IPL contract is being perceived as a source of inspiration for youngsters. At the Minz household, what matters more than the amount, be it enormously astronomical, is the inception of a new chapter – that, of tribal cricketers in IPL.
He will soon have to deal with more cameras and microphones. More interviews, and further regurgitation of answers await. Yet, all will be dealt with a smile, for his son has, indeed, scripted history.
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