Jalandhar's young cricketer Arjun Rajput has achieved a major milestone after being selected for Indian Under-19 cricket team for upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and his selection has brought happiness to his family, friends, coaches and cricket lovers across the city.
Arjun comes from Ram Nagar in Jalandhar and his father Hoti Ram runs a chhole-kulcha stall near DAV College and has worked hard to support his family but despite limited financial resources he continued to encourage his son's dream of becoming a cricketer and now that dream is becoming a reality as Arjun prepares to wear Indian team's blue jersey for the first time.
The Indian Under-19 team is scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka on July 4 and Arjun's selection is being seen as result of years of dedication, hard work and commitment to the game.
A left-handed batsman and right-arm off-spinner Arjun started playing cricket at age of seven and he began his cricket journey at Harbhajan Singh Cricket Academy and his first coach Vikram Sidhu played an important role in his development and even bought him his first cricket bat. Arjun faced several challenges during his cricketing journey and after the academy closed down he often did not have proper access to a ground for regular practice however he continued working on his game and did not let the difficulties stop him and throughout this period coach Vikram Sidhu continued to support and guide him.
Known for his aggressive batting style Arjun considers former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh as his idol and over the years he has impressed with his performances at different age-group levels. He represented Punjab at Under-14 and Under-16 levels and later continued to perform strongly in domestic cricket and one of his notable performances came in Cooch Behar Trophy Elite competition where he scored 121 runs against Saurashtra while playing for Punjab.
Arjun's achievement has become a proud moment for his family. Punjab Cricket Association and Jalandhar District Cricket Association congratulated Arjun on his selection and said his hard work and dedication have helped him reach this stage and as Arjun gets ready for Sri Lanka tour his journey from streets of Jalandhar to Indian Under-19 team serves as an example of perseverance and determination and his selection has brought pride not only to his family but also to entire city.
