Mumbai: Chinmay Sutar will be playing at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. He will be wearing the Mizoram jersey, in the opening match of the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.
Mizoram is in the Elite Division in the T20 tournament, in red ball cricket the North East state side is in the Plate group but it would not have looked out of place if Chinmay was playing in the Suryakumar Yadav-led Mumbai T20 side.
At the same Wankhede Stadium, a few months ago, he was the top scorer in the semi-final and final of the T20 Mumbai League. Last season, he was the T20 League’s top run-getter.
Also Read: Chinmay Sutar’s 400 revives memories of BB Nimbalkar, India’s first quadruple centurion
It means, it’s not just about how good you are. There are many factors that have to fall in place for you to have a smooth ride to play at the highest level.
The success stories of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal from Mumbai’s maidans to international arena get highlighted but there are countless cricketers’ stories of struggle, who chart long, tough journeys in pursuit of their cricketing dreams.
Chinmay’s is a good case study of the tough journey of a cricketer. Every serious cricketer picks up the bat and ball with the dream of playing for India. It is about whether you get the opportunities at the right time.
Chinmay is 29-year-old now. His life is spent hitting countless number of cricket balls, honing his skill as a batter. Before him, his father, Rajesh, did the same after falling in love with the game thanks to his father, Janardhan.
Hailing from Chinchani Village, on the Mumbai and Gujarat border, three generations of Sutars have devoted their lives to the game.
“Players from Mumbai, including the late Ramakant Achrekar and Ramnath Parkar, used to come to play for the village side on invitation and stayed at our place. That was the beginning of our cricket journey,” recalled Rajesh.
For a cricketer, there’s no better high than runs and wickets. The family had their moments but nothing has come easy. On his one-day debut for Mumbai, Rajesh had back to back hundreds in the Ranji One-Day West Zone League 1996/97, blazing away to 108 in a 154-run opening partnership with Sajay Manjrekar, and next game got a 100 versus Maharashtra in a 138-run opening partnership.
In the Mumbai versus Australia game in 1998 at the Brabourne, famous for Sachin Tendulkar’s first double hundred in First Class cricket, Rajesh had smashed Shane Warne for five fours during a 100-plus partnership with Sachin Tendulkar.
Second in 92-year history
This season, the family is basking in the glory of Chinmay scoring a 400* for Mizoram versus Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy, only the second batter in the tournament’s 92-year history to hit a first-class quadruple century, joining Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar (who scored an unbeaten 443 for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in 1948).
When Chinmay played for India Emerging team in the Asian Cricket Council’s Emerging Cup in Bangladesh in 2019, it felt like a smooth ride to the dream of playing at the highest level.
The selection came at the back of his good run for the Mumbai Under-23 side. It meant he was among the talented young players in the country. In the semi-final of the tournament against Pakistan, batting at number 6 Chinmay had scored 28 not out in a narrow three-run loss.
Covid struck, and when normalcy returned after two and a half years, he had lost important years at a crucial stage of his career. It pegged him back, the platform he had gained by scoring a series of hundreds in the U-23 for Mumbai, was forgotten.
Getting into any state side in India, the competition is intense, especially among batters. Every tournament is crucial or you suddenly find yourself pushed back in the queue. Even if you score runs, the selectors’ perspective of your game matters.
The merit list for selection doesn’t depend on the numbers on the marksheet. Experts will differ in their opinions about your game. When Chinmay was starting out, Rajesh got a call from former India opener, the late Sudhir Naik, “Raju, Chinmay got a hundred today (for National CC), but that is not why I called, I called to tell you he bats better than you.”
Another time, former MCA secretary and Under-23 coach, Vilas Godbole, called to say: “Raju, your son has it in him to play at a high level of cricket.”
But, it’s the opinion of the current selection committee that matters.
Post covid, for Chinmay, it became a struggle to get back in contention for the Mumbai senior team.
When he didn’t find a place in the four teams picked for the selection matches for the Mumbai One-day side for the Vijay Hazare team, Rajesh understood the signs were not good.
Chinmay got picked in Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare and Mushtaq Ali Trophy squads, but then you have to be in the playing eleven to make a mark. He was in the Shreyas Iyer-led Mumbai squad which won the SMAT Trophy but couldn’t get a look-in. In January, this year, he played in Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Maharashtra at Jaipur but was run out for two runs.
With time running out, the Sutars had to make the decision to find a platform to show his potential. Finally they gave up their Mumbai dream this year and switched to Mizoram as Chinmay turned 29.
“He was doing his work but he was losing time. Before Covid he was 23, after two and half years he crossed 25-26. He was performing, but not getting a chance, you are losing every year, he became 26, 27… In his mind he was determined, his willpower was strong that “I will get selected for Mumbai”.
“Last season, 2025 he was T20 Mumbai League’s highest run getter (271 runs, average 54.2 at a strike rate of 132.84). He had hopes they would play him in the T20 team, he was there in the 15 but didn’t get to play in the XI. That chance, he lost.”
“This MPL also he was the highest scorer in the semi-final (62*) and final (61). He was not even in the probables (Mumbai), we decided our time is getting wasted and age badthti jaa rahi hai, he is 29 now. There we got the green signal from Mizoram, and MCA also gave the NOC.”
Every cricketer in India, also dreams of playing in the IPL. Doing well in your association’s T20 League is the best way to get noticed. Chinmay has done that, now playing the SMAT starting on Saturday gives him another opportunity to prove himself.
Mizoram is not Mumbai but at least Chinmay has the platform. Like the 400 has made the cricket fraternity sit up and take notice. For him, the hope is to do something like that in the SMAT and realise the IPL dream.
“IPL has become the most popular league in the world, it is also my dream. The last two editions I did so well (in the T20 Mumbai league), I am going for the trials for the last three-four years, I get calls from two-three teams.”
“When you are not playing SMAT for Mumbai, or for your state team, the teams don’t take much interest in you. For me, MPL was a very good platform, live games.”
“The reason to go to Mizoram was that I will get both red ball and white ball which will increase my chances of playing the IPL as well.”
With the record 400 under his belt, the spotlight will be on him in their match against Jharkhand. Does he feel that all his hard work has been compensated?
“I don’t think like that. I am looking at it as a start, I have a lot to do from here, obviously record hua toh there’s a possibility of some focus being on me and there will be some expectations. For me, what will happen in future will be most important.”
The Sutars are not bitter. Ups and downs are part of the journey, says Rajesh.
“When I was in the middle of a purple patch with back to back hundreds, and playing for West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, I fractured my foot.”
“What I told him was that he has to stay fit. He also didn’t quit, he got the reward for it. It is the beginning and not the end. Age is not a factor, if you are fit, you can play any time. He is doing well, hope for the best, let’s see what happens in the future.”