Nikhil Kanchan | A Promising Young Cricketer

Introduction

Nikhil K Kanchan

Nikhil Krishna Kanchan.
A 22 year old extrovert, An Indian Indoor Cricket Team Player and Wicket Keeper, Mr Nikhil hails from Kundapura.

The crowning glory for Nikhil Krishna Kanchan came in the form of selection to represent India in the indoor cricket tournament against Sri Lanka played recently. In the second match on Feb 1, 2013, he was adjudged the Man of the Match.

He did his schooling in Little Rock Indian School-Brahmavar and his PU in Viveka Junior College-Kota. He got his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology. Currently he is pursuing his Masters in Mechanical engineering in University of Michigan, USA.
He is basically a fun loving guy and like adventurous stuff, love inspiration and inspiring others and a vivid dreamer.

What is this INDOOR CRICKET? How will it differ from conventional cricket?

Indoor cricket is a variant of and shares many basic concepts with cricket. The game is most often played between two teams each consisting of six or eight players.
Several versions of the game have been in existence since the late 1960s, whilst the game in its present form began to take shape in the late 1970s and early 1980s
READ MORE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_cricket .

We have a different board called IISF (Indian Indoor Sports Foundation) and the world body, WICF (World Indoor Cricket Federation).
 
Indoor cricket is hard to master. You gotta play this sport with a different technique. You should be more fit than the conventional cricket players. It is not easy to maintain your stamina in this sport,. You have to be exceptionally trained and have to be fit each time wen you play. This game requires more mental strength. I'm sure that, down the lane, this sport will be a sensation this will also be a revolution like the conventional cricket provided we have support.

What inspired you to get into this field? Who is your role model?

Cricket was running in my family. My maternal uncles back home - Prabhakar Kunder, Rajendra Suvarna, Satish Kunder and Ramesh Kunder - were all diehard and dedicated cricketers who inspired me to take up tennis ball cricket.
They played regular cricket on government school ground in Manoor Padukere ground. They had a formidable, hard-to-beat cricket team called 'Vahini' and the legacy was passed on to me. I credit them with recognizing my talent and supporting me in every way possible.

ROLE MODEL?

Well, It would be Virat Kohli. I like his temperament in the field and the level of maturity he shows.

How well did your parents, school/college and government support you in your journey?

First of all I would like to thank my parents, Krishna and Shantha Kanchan, My uncles and family, My coaches, Pradeep Vaz and Adarsh Naik, my teammatesie;

Dhanush Bhaskar (My captain and one of my best friends, a great leader with incredible cricketing skills, who supports me all along and a guy who is very down to earth.)
Mahesh A S, Yathish Gowda, Bharath Kalkur, Sri Krishna, Abhijeeth Venkatesh, and my manager Milind Punja, and our chairman Ajay Naik, for getting me a chance to represent my country.
 
I am really grateful to my family and college on that note. They supported me in each step, they didn't restrict me in anything. That is the most important thing I suppose, parents must be supportive in whatever the children does which helps his growth as an individual and shouldn't restrict them in doing what they are really good at. Of course academics is important. Academics is not the only thing that a child needs. For his overall development a child must be exposed to sports and other activities.

We dint receive much support from the government. Its like no other sports in India other than the conventional cricket gets highlighted. By supporting all other sports, we can improve the quality of the other sports. I am sure, that if there is enough support, India will be formidable in all the sports.So we would like to see government supporting us in every way possible.We would wan this game promoted all over and get more players playing this sport.

 

How did you get into national cricket team? Any suggestions and tips for aspiring players?

 “Its just that you have to walk an extra mile each time”.

Find your weaknesses, work on it, one day at a time, have patience.
Don’t just practice for the sake of it. Practice to improve yourself. There is lot of difference between skill and talent. Talent is by birth and skill can be mastered by anyone who works towards it. But SKILL has more weight-age than TALENT.
The indoor cricket game is still growing in India and we are getting more quality players. They have to go through hard fitness and practice regimes to move up the next level.

You are something today! Was it easy to reach this stage?

I believe I'm still the same guy and my lifestyle hasn’t changed. I will be “SOMETHING”, when I help people reach their goals.
I wouldn't say it was easy. But I believe, If you love what you do, It wont be hard. I loved what I did. We practiced very well, till 12 in the night. We had an indoor arena in Bangalore which was like 40 km away from my place. We used to travel in 2 hours each time to reach the arena. We all were passionate about this game. We had that fire. So basically, Love what you do or else you will have a very very-very hard time. You will feel each step is hard.

What did you learn from your journey as a Cricketer?

I learnt a lot, I learnt to be more patient, Learnt to control my emotions, Learnt responsibility, Improved my mentality and concentration, Learnt teamwork,coordination and most of all I learnt that there is no luck, if there is, hard work or passion is followed by luck.

Please share any one unforgettable BEST and WORST moments of your journey.

My best moments in this journey and in my entire life is when my name was announced for the series against Sri Lanka which would be my First International match,

It was when I won the man of the match against Srilanka
When I got a chance to play against Australia twice recently.
Another best moment Is when I got to know that Dreams do come true.
I don’t think there is any worst moment in the journey, everything Is a learning experience.I might have had some academical challenges, but that made me more strong. There will be worst moments , actually a lot of those if your mind accepts failure. Otherwise, everything is a learning experience.Its all about attitude.

You'll obviously get chances to meet popular cricketers! Please Highlight your experience of meeting them.

I have practiced with RCB Team in Bangalore and there I had a chance to meet all the players. It was an amazing experience and could see how hard they worked.

Are you expecting any kinds of favors from government or general public which could help you achieve more? Please specify.

Obviously we need government favors in-terms of funding indoor cricket and we need media to pick this up more and spread. We have been trying hard to achieve this.
I want people to learn indoor cricket, Understand it and and play it. We need promotion all over.

What are your other fields of interest except Cricket?

Except cricket I love to play volley ball. I've represented my school and college in volleyball as well. Apart from sports, I love to inspire people, listening to music, reading inspirational books and biographies, spending time with friends also playing games on my laptop. I have got a great bunch of friends and I am grateful to god for that.

Finally, Your message to our beloved readers.

DREAM!!! Dream biggg!!! Your dream should excite you and scare you at the same time.

Have a plan, a long term plan and BELIEVE in yourself. Do a little bit everyday towards your dream, and NEVER GIVE UP!!

If you want a change in your life, Take risks and have faith.

Be content and grateful of your current situation. Be grateful for what you have now, and you will see your life change within a very short time. Nothing comes easy, You have to pay the price ie;work hard.

Work wont be hard if you like what you do. Find your purpose and I'm sure you will excel.

In every failure there is a lesson to be learnt. Your attitude toward the failure matters more. The best way to get something, is to give. Serve others, help others succeed and you will see yourself blossoming to greater heights.
I M POSSIBLE
All the best and Thank you people for all the support..

Love u guys. Proud to be Kundapurian!