SEMENYIH – Hard work and sheer determination can take anyone anywhere.
This is the story of young cricket prodigy Tristan Aashish Fernandez Kumar, who has been selected for the 25-player squad in the second phase of training for Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the upcoming Malaysia Games (Sukma) which is scheduled to take place in August this year.
The 14-year-old bowler, who started immersing himself in the sport at the age of nine under the tutelage of his grandfather, Jerome Fernandez, also aspires to be part of the national under-16 team this year.
Speaking to Scoop, Tristan dedicated his sports progression to his grandfather and expressed his desire to continue making him proud with consistent performances in the years to come.
“My grandfather has been my pillar of strength in this sport, and without him, I wouldn’t have achieved any success or recognition. He trained me like a proper athlete from a young age and instilled a competitive and winning mentality in me.
“I was just a young boy playing cricket in the park, and now I’ve been selected for Sukma. It’s indeed a great achievement for me.
“However, I don’t want to be too overconfident with my accomplishments, as I have much more to achieve in the years to come.
“For now, I’m going to train harder and ensure I make it to the final 19 player list in Sukma and also get selected to play for my country,” said Tristan, at the Under-12 Pentangular Cricket Championship at the University of Nottingham Malaysia today.
Tristan, who also trains at the Royal Selangor Club and the Malaysia Cricket Association Academy, played for the KLCA President’s 11 in a friendly match against the Thailand National Under-16 team in June last year, at the Selangor Turf Club (STC) Cricket Oval.
He added that he looks up to former Australian bowler Shane Warne and aims to emulate his success by one day leading Malaysia to a global stage in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Shane had a remarkable career from 1992 to 2007, amassing 708 wickets in 145 Test appearances.
He passed away at the age of 52 due to a heart attack while on vacation in Ko Samui, Thailand, last year.
“My coach introduced me to Shane’s videos, and I fell in love with his style of play, especially the way he executes his googlies (leg spins). Thanks to Shane, I’m now more confident with my bowling, as I replicate whatever he does when I train in the evenings with my team.
“Whenever I analyse his videos, I always learn something new, and my goal is to become a great bowler like him and achieve more success for my beloved country.
“I have a long-term goal to play for Malaysia in the T20 World Cup and be one of the top players in the tournament. I will work hard for that, especially since the new format of the tournament has made it easier for Malaysia to qualify.
“I will make sure to achieve my dream of becoming like Shane in the years to come,” added Tristan.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the Twenty20 International cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2007.
The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be the ninth edition of the tournament and is scheduled to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to 29.
England is the defending champion, having defeated Pakistan in the final of the previous edition in Australia in 2022.
The 21st edition of Sukma is scheduled to take place from August 17 to 24, with Sarawak hosting the prestigious event for the third time, with the last two times being in 1990 and 2016. – January 21, 2024