Setting the pace: Noida Express Shivam Mavi has arrived

Noida: The year Shivam Mavi was born, Rahul Dravid's Test career was just two years old. Mavi would have grown up watching the legend of The Wall taking shape. Then, on what would have seemed a surreal Saturday, the 19-year-old and Dravid had their hands on the same cup.
Back home, in a different hemisphere, millions in the Indian cricket fandom were awash in the euphoria of another World Cup win by the Boys in Blue. Mavi's home in Noida looked like it was a venue for a carnival — family, friends, neighbours, strangers, all came together in the rapturous celebration that broke out as India hit the winning runs in the Under-19 World Cup final.

And what a contrast it was from the mood in the house before the tournament. Mavi's performance (nine wickets at an economy rate of 4.12) might not have suggested so, but he was not in the best frame of mind before leaving for New Zealand. The 19-year-old fast bowler, his father told TOI, was upset over the death of his senior Anureet Singh's father.

"He is very close to Anureet and Parvinder Awana," said Pankaj Mavi. "When he heard about Anureet's father's demise, he broke down and cried. This was just three months before the World Cup. We felt since he had to leave for training, he should not be in such a mental state. We visited Anureet's house in Delhi and met his family, which helped him get through that situation."

A beaming Kavita, the young fast bowler's mother, said the boy told her over the phone he had achieved his "first goal today", one for which he had been striving for 11 years. It wasn't always a smooth ride. There were at least two points in Mavi's life when he felt he might not be close to playing for India, till cricketer Suresh Raina spotted his talent.

"He was trying very hard to get selected in the UP-state level tournament in the Under-16 category in 2014 but was unsuccessful. He was heartbroken for some days but later said he will bounce back and try for the Under-19s," said Pankaj, a contractor with the Noida Authority. Pankaj said Mavi had clean bowled the left-handed Raina at a trial match at Billabong Cricket Academy in Noida in 2015. Impressed by the teenager's performance, Raina spoke to the UP Cricket Association (UPCA) about how they had failed to identify a promising player.

But in 2016, a ligament fracture during a trial match in Kanpur for a UPCA tournament kept him away from the game for five-six months. But he bounced back with the help of Awana and Anureet.

Mavi, who along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti made up a lethal opening combination for India that sliced open top orders with pace and guile (Mavi's fastest ball was 146kmph and Nagarkoti's 149kmph) and some chin music, began playing cricket seriously from the age of eight when his father put him in an academy.

The family always supported him but doubts did creep in now and then when neighbours told them they were "spoiling his (Mavi's) life". "Some people told us those things but looking at his performance in the Dhruv Pandove tournament in 2012, we ignored them. They have got their answer today. All of them had come to our house and watched his performance on the big screen today," Pankaj said.

The 'Noida Express', as Mavi has been nicknamed, has begun his journey.