5 things to know about Pranav Dhanawade, the 1009 run wonderkid

Pranav Dhanawade has just broken a 117 year old record by scoring 1009 runs. The record is an incredible feat, seeing as the previous record was 628 runs set during a junior match house in England. The wonder kid from Mumbai has attained an achievement beyond his wildest dreams. Here are five things you should know about him:

#1 Son of a humble auto rickshaw driver

Humble beginnings

Pranav Dhanwade’s father Pranav Dhanwade is a auto rickshaw driver. Of Pranav’s performance while he was batting he said "We are really happy and he is still playing, and I think this will turn into a unbreakable record. But it's not been an easy journey”

"There have been lots of problems, because we don't have a ground in Kalyan, there's no cricket development there. It's only played in Mumbai. Maybe after he completes his 1000 runs, the talent in Kalyan also comes into focus. There are no sponsors as well. Hope all these problems get fixed” he said. His prayer was asnwered as Pranav compiled a score 1009 runs.

#2 Fan of Sachin, friends with his son

Pranav and his father consider Sachin to be their idol

Pranav, like many kids in Mumbai and indeed in India, counts Sachin Tendulkar as his idol. He has said of his idols “Sachin is my batting idol, I am a wicketkeeper so my wicketkeeping idol is Australia’s Brad Haddin.”

Pranav’s father concurs with the sentiment "His idol is Sachin Tendulkar. Even when I used to play, my idol was Sachin as well. Sachin's son Arjun is a good friend of Pranav. They used to play together in Mumbai.”

#3 Pranav Dhanwade is coached by Mobin Shaikh

Pranav with his coach Mobin Shaikh

Pranav’s coach Mobin Shaikh may have had high hopes for him, but his record today surpassed all hopes. Said Shaikh “Dhanawade is with me from the age of six. His feat would give a strong boost to cricket in this area. We have lot of talent in and around Kalyan but lack of proper facilities has hampared it. Today (former India captain and MCA Vice President) Dilip Vengsarkar came and promised an academy here if he is provided with the ground and our local MLA promised to provide him wherever he wanted it.”

“It’s a proper ground for an under 16 game and the tournament is an MCA-recognised tournament. I was very happy with the opposing team, and the way they approached the game,” said Shaikh. Shaikh is a Central Bank of India employee who’s been coaching for sevaral years.

#4 Pranav is a student of KC Gandhi School in Kalyan

The record scorecard

For all his otherwordly exploits today, Pranav is just a school kid who studies in class ten. He hails from KC Gandhi School in Kalyan, and there is a good chance that his scorecard will be immortalized in the schools annals. Mumbai schools have a history of producing child prodigies, now the KC Gandhi School can count itself among those. The opponents didn’t have it easy as they were all out in 17 overs for 31 runs.

#5 Pranav\'s cricket coaching funded

Pranav has more reasons to rejoice

Pranav entered the record books today, that alone is a cause for celebration. He also had a weight lifted off his shoulders as the Maharashtra government announced that it will fund the expenses of his cricket coaching. For a son of a humble auto rickshaw driver, this has to come as a welcome respite. Regardless of his financial situation, he can practice with a single minded purpose knowing that his path in training for success in cricket has been funded by the government.

Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 5, 2016