India, July 17 -- Eighteen years ago, Sahaspur's Mohammad Shami had turned up at Kolkata's Dalhousie Athletic Club with a reference from his local coach Badruddin Siddique and a month's pocket money. He shared the tent space with other players, started earning Rs.75,000 per year with the promise of biryani every time he would take a five-wicket haul. Six years later, he made his India debut at Eden Gardens, barely 800 yards from the Dalhousie AC tent. It's a story playing on loop in the last decade, featuring names like Shami, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.

Not everyone becomes Shami. But that doesn't stop cricketers from dreaming big. Shami's journey was a trigger for other cricketers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to make a queue for Kolka...