Barefoot Beginnings to ‘Gopalganj Rabada’: Sakib Hussain’s Dream IPL Debut
In the dusty expanses of Gopalganj and Siwan in Bihar, they didn’t call him Sakib Hussain. To the locals gathering around makeshift pitches to watch tennis-ball cricket, the lanky teenager hurtling the ball at terrifying speeds was simply known as “Rabada”.
Long before his sensational four-wicket IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Rajasthan Royals on Monday, Sakib was fighting a very different kind of battle – one of survival. His father, a daily-wage labourer, lived an “earn today, eat today” existence. For Sakib, bowling scorching deliveries in local village tournaments for a meagre ₹500 a match was a desperate hustle.
Sakib never had the luxury of a gym or a structured diet. His family, drowning in financial instability, urged him to secure a government job in the Army. Operating with no Plan B, Sakib took to running. He would sprint for two hours straight every day, treating it as marathon training for military selections.
What he didn’t realise was that these gruelling miles were forging the ultimate fast bowler’s physique. His core became virtually unbreakable, his calves tightly coiled springs. It was this immense, natural strength that soon caught the eye of coach Robin Singh, who currently balances his coaching duties with a vibrant stint as a Bhojpuri commentator for JioHotstar.
“I had a nephew who told me, ‘Uncle, I have a friend who bowls very fast. But he doesn’t have any guidance,’” Robin told RevSportz. When he finally saw the 15-year-old bowl, he was mesmerised. District officials, however, scoffed at the teenager’s lack of accuracy, joking that if he aimed for one net, the ball would end up in the other. But Robin saw something raw – unadulterated fire.
The breakthrough came with the Bihar Cricket League (BCL). Robin reached out to the coaches of the Gaya Gladiators, pleading with them to take a chance on the young speedster. The response was hesitant – why gamble on a village boy with zero district or league experience when state players were available?
Robin put his entire reputation on the line. “Brother, you play him, trust me,” Robin told the coach. “If he turns out to be bad, I will stop coming to the ground.”
Sakib was summoned to Patna, but he was so destitute he couldn’t even afford the bus fare, let alone professional gear. Robin stepped in. He showed up to the nets and bowled without spikes. Even barefoot, his pace was so blistering that teammates, on Robin’s request, quickly pooled resources to buy him proper shoes from a local shop. He was drafted immediately, paving the way for his Bihar Under-19 call-up.
Behind the scenes, Sakib had angels in his corner. Robin stepped in as a father figure, ensuring his diet and off-field needs were met. Financially, the late Tunna Giri, former president of the Gopalganj District Cricket Association, and his brother Kumar Giri became immense pillars of support, keeping Sakib’s cricketing dreams afloat when reality threatened to sink them.
It didn’t take long for Sakib’s pace to become legendary in local circles. At open trials, batsmen would genuinely fear for their safety. “Sir, don’t make him bowl, he’ll injure the batsman,” they would plead, said Robin.
This lethal reputation was cemented during a day’s match played on a dead track at Jamia in Delhi. While other bowlers struggled to get the ball to bounce above waist height, Sakib was terrorising batters with vicious bouncers, claiming an astonishing 21 wickets in just four matches. His spells caught the eye of junior selector S Sharath, who fast-tracked him to the NCA, the MRF Pace Foundation, and eventually a stint as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings.
The real financial turning point arrived when the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired him at his base price. While some youngsters might have splurged, Sakib used the money to build a small house so his large family could finally live under a proper roof.
Inside the KKR camp, his lanky stature earned him the affectionate nickname “Killi”. It was here that he rubbed shoulders with coaching masterminds like Bharat Arun and Abhishek Nayar. They recognised that tinkering with his naturally gifted, unorthodox action would be a mistake, instead focusing on harnessing his raw potential.
Much like the fearless Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sakib possesses a steely inner core. He simply does not care who is standing at the batting crease. Whether it’s a domestic rookie or an international superstar, Sakib charges in with the same hostility.
The path to the orange jersey of Sunrisers Hyderabad was scouted meticulously by Varun Aaron. Aaron had first noted Sakib’s lethal pace at the MRF academy and kept a close watch.
The turning point came during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in a massive upset where Bihar defeated UP. Bowling to the destructive duo of Rinku Singh and Sameer Rizvi, Sakib choked the run flow, conceding a mere 7–8 runs in a crucial two-over spell. But it was the 20th over that sealed his fate. Bowling on a sluggish wicket, Sakib unleashed a ferocious bouncer that struck Prashant Veer – a multi-crore IPL recruit – flush on the neck, dropping him to the turf.
Aaron, watching from the sidelines, knew immediately that this was the enforcer SRH needed. He believes that young players from humble backgrounds carry an unquenchable fire and motivation that established stars often struggle to replicate. “Varun Aaron is there, and he is like the modern genius of fast bowling, as I call him,” Robin quipped. “So he is the best guy to guide him.
“Varun has worked very hard. He went and worked very hard, watched players at many centres. And I think he will be the happiest person because he took a big call. Playing Sakib and Praful among such big stalwarts… and the biggest thing is, this was a good call. Because you see, these two boys have the motivation to play for India.”
Today, Sakib is armed with an arsenal of variations, capable of bowling 7–8 different types of deliveries in a single over. “This is just the beginning,” said Robin. “Let the world see who Sakib Hussain is.”
Whenever the harsh realities of his lower-middle-class background threatened to breed self-doubt, Robin was there to shield him. “I never let him go into that phase,” Robin said with immense pride. “I always instilled in him… ‘You are made to do something special, and you are going to rock. One day the whole world will recognise what Sakib Hussain is made for.’ This has always been my faith. And for the rest, I trust God a lot. It is God’s grace that whatever has happened today has happened… and this is just the beginning. I am telling you, this is just the start.”
The two still speak regularly, analysing plans and keeping the young pacer grounded. Against the Rajasthan Royals, the world finally saw what the dusty maidens of Gopalganj knew all along. The ‘Rabada’ of Bihar has arrived – and, as his mentor promises, this is just the beginning.
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