From food delivery runs to Bengal whites, Rahul Prasad carries a promise made at his mother’s bedside

On the third morning after his mother left for her heavenly abode, a lanky 17-year-old stood inside the sun-beaten enclosure of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Academy’s nets in Kalyani, his sweaty palms trembling inside a pair of threadbare gloves. Though the grief still stung his eyes in sudden, searing waves, he found himself at the State Under-19 trials all the same—only because his coach, Birendra Pratap Singh, refused to let him retreat.

“My mother passed on April 29, 2022. She had been feeling unwell, so my father took her to the hospital. The doctor said she will be fine and prescribed some medicines, but while waiting for those, she dropped unconscious. She never regained her senses—it was a heatstroke. I had just left to go play an NSI (Netaji Subhash Institute) T20 match. My dad called me back. One look at the doctor’s face, and I understood that Maa was no more. At that moment, it felt like everything was falling apart. But then I got up. I had to make my mother’s dream come true and become a better cricketer,” Rahul Prasad says, his eyes distant. He had just finished playing his second First Class match wherein Bengal crushed Railways by an innings and 120 runs. His contribution amounted to four wickets and an unbeaten 40.

The untimely passing of Rahul’s mother broke the family in ways they couldn’t name. Harikishan, Rahul’s father, began working overtime as a cab driver, while Rahul couldn’t just dedicate his time exclusively to the sport he loved anymore. The young cricketer from Sodepur had to make ends meet. Hence, he took on the job of a food delivery executive with a popular app, cycling 20-25 kilometres every day across the city. Together, the father-and-son duo stitched survival from odd hours and small change.

“My dad used to drive a cab. He still does actually, but not as much as he used to. He used to be a contracted driver with the CAB as well but quit long ago. For two months, I had delivered food on Zomato. Although Mother didn’t earn, the vacuum she left behind brought our world to a standstill, and somehow we came under a little financial stress,” he says.

Rahul, self-admittedly, is doing a lot better now. However, the journey until here has been built on years of working his fingers to the bone.

He had started out as a medium-pace-bowling all-rounder at the Panihati Sporting Club, under the watchful eyes of Birendra Pratap. Rahul couldn’t afford bats. But it turns out, he never had to worry.

“Biru sir (Birendra Pratap) has been very supportive from the start. He used to treat me like his child. English willow bats are very expensive. But sir allowed me to borrow the club’s bats so that I could use them whenever I wanted,” Rahul says.

Birendra Pratap was convinced Rahul would fare better bowling off-spin. The coach’s instinct hit the nail on the head, for Rahul’s off-spin coupled with his batting abilities impressed the Youth selectors. Less than six months later, he was already donning the Bengal U-19 crest on his whites in the Cooch-Behar Trophy.

Perhaps it was the seven-wicket haul against Gujarat that prompted the call-up to the U-19 camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in 2023.

Although he couldn’t make the next year’s U-19 ICC World Cup squad, the seeds of a senior State debut were sown when he broke down the proverbial selectors’ doors with some mind-boggling numbers in the U-23 circuit in 2024-25.

At the C. K. Nayudu Trophy, Rahul topped both Bengal’s batting and bowling charts. From seven games, he not only picked up 27 wickets at a miserly average of 14.03 but also scored 353 runs, which included two hundreds against Punjab and Rajasthan.

“There was simply no way one could look beyond him. He is a rare talent, but the best part is he is also incredibly hard-working. He was also performing well in the club circuit. Prominent coach Abdul Monayem spotted him in his early days and got him into Bhawanipore,” a State selector, who doesn’t wish to be named, says.

Ask Rahul, and he would say: “If you love doing something, the job will never seem difficult. I tend to derive a lot of fun from shouldering responsibilities for my team. If my team desperately needs runs, I would like to score in heaps, and if they need wickets, I would love to break a crucial partnership. I never think of pressure. I just want to deliver.” The words hang heavy in the air, and suddenly Rahul seems a lot older than 21.

Considering Rahul’s age, Bengal’s head coach, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, has been mindful of his workload, using him sparingly with the ball. With the bat as well, he has only batted in the seventh, eighth, or ninth slot in the three Senior games he has played so far. Irrespective, Rahul has shown sparks of promise with seven wickets and 103 runs (off three batting innings).

Shukla speaks highly of the rookie. “I am thankful to the selectors for bringing such talents to my notice. You have seen him in the nets as well; he is very dedicated to his art.”

It seems Rahul also has developed a respect for Shukla, who is known to be a strict disciplinarian. He says, “In the senior camp, Laxmi sir has guided me a lot. Whatever cricket is there inside of you, he will try to squeeze it out. I respect this trait of his a lot. When you work with him, you will never doubt yourself, no matter how big a player you are facing. He imbibes positive thoughts and keeps you in the moment. He doesn’t let anyone slack.”

Back home, the family is also in a better place, which has enabled Rahul to dedicate all of his mind, nerves, and sinew to cricket. “I have a sister and brother. The sister is studying in Class 12, while he is in the 10th standard. Our parents brought us up well, and my siblings are mature enough. I am lucky that way. I can concentrate on the game, and they don’t require a lot of guidance from me regarding what’s to be done. Once I start earning a little more, I will ask Dad to retire as well. He is 53 and needs some rest now.”

The plans to give back to people who have wished him well through life don’t end there. He says, “First, when I am able to save up a considerable sum, my aim is to build a house for ourselves. Then I have to get ready to get my sister married as well. That’s a few years down the line, but I need to act now.”

What about plans for himself? “I don’t want to remain stagnant at one level. I want to represent India A and then play for India as well someday. What I can do is work incredibly hard; the rest is up to God. He knows what is best for me. I don’t think about the IPL (Indian Premier League) at all. Instead, I think about improving my game every day. I think about dominating in this sport. If I score heavily and take a lot of wickets in the Ranji Trophy, nobody can stop me from getting a contract. If you run after excellence, you don’t have to run after anything else. Ruku da (Anustup Majumdar), Shahbaz (Ahmed) bhaiyya, Abhimanyu (Easwaran) da, Ghara da (Sudip Kumar Gharami), and Sumanta (Gupta) da are seniors I always try to learn new things from. If I can implement a thing or two from their teachings in my game, I can improve.”

Rahul taking guard for Bengal doesn’t merely reflect as statistics on a team sheet. It is a lesson for everyone—a quiet proof that sometimes the toughest innings are played far away from the scoreboard.

Published on Nov 21, 2025