Dubai: How a mother's unwavering faith is keeping a cricket dream alive

Among the myriad things Fatima Pinto, a Dubai resident, was particular about her son, Keith, was his natural ability as a left-hander.

Whether throwing a cricket ball or holding a pen to write, Keith was at ease with his left hand.

And Fathima was adamant that nobody would force her son to become a right-hander.

“I even sent a letter to the Indian High School (Dubai), informing them that my son was a lefty, so I asked them not to force him to become right-handed. I remember some schools (in India) used to put pressure on students to use their right hand. I didn’t want that to happen to my son,” the Indian expat recalled.

Fatima had seen Keith throw the cricket ball with his left hand when he was only eight.

“If the left hand gave him the maximum strength, he should be allowed that advantage,” she said.

It was Fatima’s unwavering support that helped Keith in every step of his life.

And last week, the 25-year-old made his first-class debut as a cricketer in India, picking up four wickets with his left-arm orthodox spin in a Ranji Trophy match for Goa against Arunachal Pradesh.

The four-day Ranji match made headlines for two reasons — one, a five-wicket haul by Arjun Tendulkar, son of Sachin Tendulkar, and two, a record 606-run unbroken third-wicket partnership between Kashyap Bakle (300 not out) and Snehal Kauthankar (314 not out).

Keith’s efforts (7.3-1-31-2 and 3.3-0-25-2) in Goa’s big win — by an innings and 551 runs — may have been eclipsed by his teammates Bakle, Kauthankar and Tendulkar, but his first-class debut in India was still a very emotional moment for Fatima.

“He had lots of ups and downs as he needed to adjust to a new life in India after he moved there in 2015. But he was mentally very strong,” Fatima said.

“He was named among the Goa Ranji probables in 2022, but he didn’t get into the team for two years. So he waited for his turn, he waited and waited and finally now, he got into the Goa team.”

It was in Dubai’s Max Talent Cricket Academy that Keith, who idolises legendary Kiwi left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, first learned the art of spin bowling..

“His love for cricket is something I cannot explain. He always worked so hard on his game. But it was hard work for me as well. I used to get up at 5 every morning to take him for training at Max Talent Academy,” she said.

“Even on the weekends I did that, waking up at 5 with him in the morning. As a working mother, I had no other ambition in my life other than supporting my son’s ambitions.”

Sudhakar Shetty, head coach at Max Talent Academy, remembered a young boy who would refuse to stop bowling in the nets.

“Keith came to our academy when he was only eight. We also trained his younger brother (Ken). But Keith was always ready to go the extra mile. He had that courage and conviction,” the veteran Dubai coach said.

“And his mother is an amazing person, she has single-handedly supported his dreams to become a top-level cricketer.”

Fatima hopes the Ranji Trophy debut is only the start of what could be a beautiful cricket journey for Keith, a consistent wicket-taker for Goa in domestic white-ball tournaments.

“I saw him turn the red ball when he was tiny. So now seeing him make his Ranji debut is like a dream come true. It was the dream I had when he held a cricket ball for the first time,” she said.

“That dream has now come true. But seeing him play for India remains my biggest dream. It's also his biggest dream to play for India!”