Punjab cricketer Naman Dhir made his international debut on Sunday for India against the West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Ahead of the game, in a video released by the BCCI on social media, Dhir spoke about his raw emotions.
“I opened that post, and after that, when I saw my name, I couldn’t process it for 10 minutes. I mean, I’ve been selected here. But yes, it was a surreal feeling. First of all, I called my father; he was very happy. He had a lot of emotions coming out,” Dhir said on Saturday.
Dhir said that, for anyone growing up, playing for India is a dream-come-true moment, and one has to keep working hard with a pure heart. “Every kid who starts playing cricket has a dream to represent India, and to play a match for India. So, I guess for me, it’s still a dream come true. I feel like I’m living my dream. The old Naman was quitting at one point, but the new Naman will say that you should keep working hard with a pure heart.
Dhir recalled that his journey revealed how he had an early success for Punjab in the age-group cricket but failed to follow it up; after 7-8 years, he got his chance again.
“If you’re honest with your work and your hard work, you’ll get a 100 percent result. I represented Punjab in the U-16s. After that, I didn’t play anything for 6-7 years, till U-25s. After that, I got a breakthrough and scored runs in the U-25s, and then I was called up for the Ranji Trophy,” Dhir recalled.
“Then IPL came, and that’s when my journey started. So, those 6-7 years were tough, but as I said, if you’re honest with your work and your hard work, you’ll get a 100 percent result,” he further added.