Two Gujarati players - Ajay Lalcheta from Porbandar and Rajeshkumar Ranpura from Palanpur- will be playing along with Oman's T20 team when it makes its World Cup debut in March. Both are all-rounders, who migrated from their home towns few years ago to shape up their cricketing careers. Lalcheta first immigrated to Uganda to play cricket in 2004 and stayed there for a year. However, he returned in 2006 after which he migrated to Muscat and started playing cricket there. He joined the Al Turk shipping firm and played for its team, handling its logistics department. “He was picked up for the national team after he helped his firm win a trophy in a tournament. We all are proud of his achievements,” Vijay Lalcheta, Ajay's younger brother, who works as deputy manager at a private bank in Porbandar, said.
Both Lalcheta and Ranpura got their initial coaching in Duleep School of Cricket, one of the oldest residential cricket schools in Gujarat. “They have represented Saurashtra in many under-14 and under-19 tournaments. Both are excellent fielders too. Their careers got a boost after migrating to Oman,” said Rambhai Odedara, who was the coach at Duleep School. Ranpura was brought up in Palanpur, where his father Jagdishchandra worked at a government agricultural university. His father helped him realize his dream. “Ranpura was living in a hostel in Porbandar and his dedication for the game was commendable,” Odedara said.
A post-graduate in computer application, Ranpura has represented various teams, including Porbandar, Bhavnagar and Saurashtra at various levels. Rajeshsinh Jadeja, executive vice president at Porbandar District Cricket Association, said, “We are happy for both the players from Gujarat for being part of Oman's national side.” Jadeja was a senior player at Duleep School when Lalcheta and Ranpura were playing school cricket. Oman qualified for the ICC World Twenty20, 2016 tournament after convincingly beating the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Namibia. The team will arrive in Rajkot to play practice matches with Saurashtra team ahead of the mega tournament
