Jayanti: In his school days he used to score quite big runs. People used to know him as a very big player. We used to have inter-state cricket tournaments and people used to go and see his games.

He was very good at all sports. Like badminton, hockey, football, table tennis. He could play all the games and he was very good at all of them. He started off with football. Later on because the school needed a wicket keeper and there was no one available so his PT teacher Mr Banerjee asked him to play as a wicket keeper. That was how he started his cricket career.

People used to love to see his batting. He was known for his big shots. His fours and sixes. He was in class seven or eight. He was scoring big runs. Around that ground we have our houses also. People used to go their terraces to see his match. Quite a number of people used to come too.

Pan Singh: We could see right from the beginning that he was interested and then as long as he was in school he played and was their champion.

And then he played in the CK Naidu interstate school tournament when he was 15. He went to play for the CK Naidu on behalf of Bihar to Delhi. He was 15 ½ actually. And he continued to play and then he played for Bihar -- it was still Bihar then -- at 19. And he came into the Ranji Trophy. And then he reached the Duleep Trophy which is zone wise.

By 15 I figured that he had a lot of talent. When he used to play in school tournaments, when the season was on, there was always Ranchi's field media, paperwallahs crowding the grounds. When he had a match they had to come and it was worth their while. He joined the clubs here and there he did well too.

How did we know he was talented? It was coming in the papers. People were saying it. Right from when he was 12 or 13 we knew he was good.

Then he represented the east zone. When reached Duleep Trophy he had to play at least two matches in one season. And if the team went forward it would be three matches. The matches would take place all over the place. Not as if they were happening here. Sometimes he was in Punjab. Sometimes Haryana. Sometimes Andhra. It was four day trophy. He would be gone for a week. He would have to leave two days before and come back a day after.

How did balance hectic practice and matches with school work?

Pan Singh: Let me tell you that boy was not a weak student. These days parents want their kids to get 95 or 99 percent. He would play cricket and play other stuff so that made it a bit difficult. But he was a good student. He did not ever score the highest marks in the class. But he always got a first division. He was interested in his studies. He never got a third division. Or failed. And if had an interest in cricket why would I stop him. We never put any obstructions.

Devki Singh: He joined the railway team in grade nine. But he did not have difficulty playing and studying at the same time. He did his studies well.

Pan Singh: Once he finished his +2 he joined Gossner College . We wrote his name down there. But nothing happened We filled his exam forms three times. But when the exams were on he would be playing a match. So he was not able to give his exams.

Jayanti: For his studies he could not make out much time. I still remember when he was giving his board exams class 12. He used to play for CCL, a company over here. He had to go to play some match for that company. He used to come back the day before he was supposed to give the exam. Give the exam. The same day, his friends used to stay outside the school, pick him up and drop him to the railway station. He used to go back play the match and come back. He studied like that. He used to say I don’t know what marks I am going to get. It was at that time he started rising high. We also felt better not to stop him from playing cricket. He was quite good at studies.

Photograph: Pan and Devki Singh with Sam in their garden in Ranchi.

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