Many may not know of senior Prabhavh Pradeep’s success in his sport outside of the Pace community. As there is no cricket team at school, he has been unable to show his talent in front of the student body. Outside of Pace, he plays at an extremely high level, playing with Major League players on his Minor League team. “There’s the Minor League and a Major League, similar to other sports. For Minor League Cricket, there are 26 teams across the country, and it’s kind of a draft system. So, each team has to have three Under 21 players, and the rest of them can be however old. You register for the draft and show your skills wherever you want to play, and you can get picked up anywhere, essentially,” said Prabhavh.
For those who are not familiar with the rules of cricket, there are two teams of 11 players each. Like baseball, each team alternates between playing the field and batting. In cricket, the pitcher is called the bowler, and the batter is called the batsman. The bowler attempts to remove the wicket’s bail. The batter tries to stop the bowler from hitting the wicket by batting the ball. There are two batsmen on the field at the same time.
For many years, Prabhavh has been working to perfect the skill set to succeed in this sport. “I got into playing cricket in the lower school. I was about ten years old. My dad, you know, he plays and manages some of the local clubs. And, I grew up watching his team play, and so I kind of started getting into playing for the teams and playing for the state for my age group. Then, once it got to a more competitive level, like the Under 19s and Under 17s, people in my age group who would perform really well would start playing at a higher level,” said Prabhavh.
Prabhavh is not the only Pradeep playing on this advanced team. Pranavh Pradeep (class of 2022) plays alongside his younger brother. “It’s really fun,” said Prabhavh. “We’ve grown up playing with each other, but playing at a bigger level together and being on the screen together, and just spending more time together under the dugout is great. I don’t really get to see him as often now that he’s in college, so it’s kind of nice getting to hangout on the team.”
Despite the time commitment, Prabhavh has also been able to balance playing cricket and school simultaneously. “So far, it’s been kind of hectic because the season was supposed to begin early on in the summer. But now that I have to go back and forth during school, it’s a bit tough,” said Prabhavh. He is a determined student and player, and due to the work he has put in, playing cricket at a high level has been a life-changing experience for him. “Some good memories would definitely be practicing with my team, and getting to know the new players,” said Prabhavh. “A lot of them are pretty well-known Major League players as well. So, meeting them and getting familiar with and practicing and playing under their guidance has been a pretty big deal for me.”