Inside the lives of the world's first Street Child Cricket World Cup champions

The Mumbai contingent of the champion cricket team has had to overcome various obstacles to clock in the win at Lord’s

Jun 10, 2019, 17:53 IST4 min

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Siddiqui hangs out with her friends after a game of cricket. Her propensity to learn new things drew her towards the game as well as to a neighbourhood gym, which the four members from India South visited ahead of the tournament. Her older sister is part of the National Cadets Corp (NCC), which motivated her to stay fit as well. When she&rsquos not playing, Siddiqui loves to dress up and

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Bhavani Mayavan, 15, watches cricket with her father and brothers at her 10x10 foot-home in Mumbai&rsquos Cheeta Camp. An MS Dhoni fan, Mayavan has learned to play cricket from her brothers and her friend Sachin. As her parents&mdashher father is a municipal worker and mother a domestic help&mdashset off for work during the day, Mayavan has a lot of time on her hands, which she spends hon

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Md Irfan, 14, takes a break after a hectic practice session in the days leading up to the Street Child World Cup in England. Irfan loves to sketch, a skill he has picked up from his mother, and aspires to become a cartoonist. It doesn&rsquot sit well with his father, who earns Rs 300 a day by stitching bags and wants Irfan to take up a job with a bank. His parents have often fought over I

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Irfan climbs up a slide at the park where they practice cricket. The game is a hobby for the diminutive teen, who would love to be a cartoonist. Every evening, once he&rsquos done with cricket, he plays a game of &lsquoBusiness&rsquo with his friends. At other times, Irfan is shy and reticent, but once he sits in front of the board, he&rsquos a different person altogether.

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Mani Ratinam, or Surya as he is known locally, runs in to catch a ball during practice. The 17-year-old wants to become a cricketer, like his idol Sachin Tendulkar, and is looking for a club to take him in. Ratinam lost his father when he was two, and has since been brought up by his mother, a cleaner in a local school, and his three sisters. He does have his share of banter and the fight

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Mayavan all set to play a match with her brothers and friends. They are often cramped for space at the dingy, labyrinthine lanes in her neighbourhood, with fears of electrocution from a mesh of exposed wires lurking overhead&mdashbut trooping out to the local ground in sportswear would invite snide comments from her neighbours. She hopes her trip to the UK and victory at the Street Child

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(From left) Irfan (with his back towards the camera), Mayavan, Irfan&rsquos mother, Mayavan&rsquos mother, Mayavan and Ratinam hang out after a gym session.

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