Down-to-earth, energetic and enthusiastic Alish Pekha, a class XII student of Dehradun’s SelaQui World School, won honours while representing the Indian squad which bagged the winners’ trophy in the six-a-side cricket tournament sponsored by the Cricket Federation of Nepal, last August in Kathmandu (Nepal). Alish Pekha was handpicked from among 60 contenders vying to represent the Uttarakhand Cricket Association (UCA), which was asked to recommend an all-rounder for the 16 member India squad.

To represent UCA, Alish Pekha (17) had to compete with students from 15-20 schools across Uttarakhand. The association put the candidates through gruelling bowling, batting and fielding tests. “The trials were held in Meerut which I visited for the first time. I believe determination and concentration were important factors which helped the selectors choose me to represent the state in the Indian squad,” he says.

Alish Pekha’s selection is especially surprising because he began playing cricket only five years ago. “Now this complex and intelligent game is my passion, and I’m sure I’ll play it for a long time,” says this promising cricketer who represented Jammu & Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy tournament last year (2006), though an injury prevented him from playing in this inter-state tournament this year. Nevertheless he put in a credible performance in the six-a-side tournament in Kathmandu, representing India in three out of four matches, in one of which he top-scored with 24 and bagged three wickets.

Refreshingly, Alish Pekha also believes there’s life beyond cricket. Well up on current affairs and politics, this go-getter is usually among the first five in his class academically, and plans to qualify as a research economist. “Sixty years after independence, the economic problems of the country are largely unresolved. It’s important to do some intensive research to ascertain the real cause of this phenomenon,” he says.

The chances are that he’ll succeed in his chosen vocation by exercising the same degree of application and resolve he displays on the cricket green.

Natasha Pathak (Dehradun)