IPL 2021: "If cricket wasn't kind to me, I would have been selling Panipuri on roads" - Sheldon Jackson

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Sheldon Jackson narrated his earnest and emotional journey in cricket on Thursday. He remarked that if the sport had not been kind to him a few years ago, he would have been "selling Panipuri on roads" today.

The 34-year-old right-hander recalled how in 2011, domestic disappointments had prepared him to give up all of his cricketing dreams. Sheldon Jackson was ready to take up an odd bank job when a friend asked him to give him another year for the sport he has worked on whole life.

In a video interaction with KKR, Sheldon Jackson said:

"At the age of 25, I thought of giving cricket up totally. I was in the Ranji Trophy squad for five years without playing a single match.. Then a very, very close friend of mine, named Mr. Shapath Shah, said that 'You have worked all these years very hard, give yourself another year, wait for another year, if nothing works you can come and work in my factory. I'll give you a job but give yourself another year.'"

That one extra year became the watershed moment in Sheldon Jackson's career as he broke innumerable records to reignite his ambitions. He added:

"That year I broke every record in the country. I became the highest run-scorer. I played everything except for India. I got four centuries in a year, three centuries in a row... From there on my career just kickstarted. That time I understood that if I have to do something in my life, this is the only thing I can do, because I knew nothing else. I never paid attention to anything else in my life. Or else, if cricket had not been kind to me, I would have been selling panipuri on the roads."

Since his first-class debut for Saurashtra, Sheldon Jackson has been one of the most consistent performers on the domestic circuit. The dynamic batsman has over 5000 first-class runs at an average of just under 50. In the T20s, his most recent exploits included a 50-ball 106 against Andhra Pradesh in a nail-biting Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in January.

---

"I always looked up to Gautam Gambhir, and I still do" - Sheldon Jackson

Sheldon Jackson also shared an anecdote of his selection to KKR in 2013 and the role the then captain Gautam Gambhir played in it. The middle-order batsman said the moment upturned his life forever as it not only gave him the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best in the sport but also helped provide for his mother.

Sheldon Jackson explained:

"We were playing a Ranji Trophy match against Delhi. I scored a 50 against a very good bowling attack. After that, I went up Gautam bhai, I have always idolized him, so I said: 'Bhaiya, what do you feel about my game? How can I improve?' He said: 'You are batting well, just be ready. This year, I'll pick you in KKR'. I just thanked him and went away, thinking he said that just to keep my heart."

He added:

The auctions came and I went unsold in the first round. But someone from the KKR management called me saying, 'Don't worry Gautam bhai called us just now and we'll go for you'. And I got picked for KKR."

Sheldon Jackson signed off by saying:

"It was a very big boost for me financially and mentally because I was scoring runs but no one was recognizing it. Financially, because it helped me build life outside cricket and give my mother a happier and stable life... Those years helped me grow both ways. I got to work with the best of people. I always looked up to Gautam bhai, and I still do..."

Sheldon Jackson has also featured in four IPL games, albeit with limited success. Now it will be interesting to see whether the franchise gives him a chance in the UAE during the second leg of IPL 2021, considering their position on the points table and the sustained struggles of the top order.