From beginners’ camp to national team in 18 months: The story of national Under-15 cricketer Shahid Ramzan

When Shahid Ramzan was signed up for the annual cricket camp at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) in 2023, it was merely to have him meaningfully engaged during the August holidays, and introduce him to hardball cricket.
Cricket camps, such as this long-standing one at the prestigious club, are designed to pique the interest of the young minds, and more importantly, serve as a talent spotting platform for local clubs.
At the conclusion of the two-week camp, where participants were furnished with the fundamentals of the sport, Head Coach Peter Persaud, who has been nurturing young talents at the former Test match venue, had spotted a spark in young Ramzan.
“Sign up this young man with the club and give me two years with him,” were the words of Persaud to Shahid’s father Avenash.
Prior to the camp, Shahid had already developed a passion for the game, one which started with bottom house cricket with a tennis ball on a shortened pitch during the COVID-19 lockdown.

His father and grandfather Sheik Abdool Ramzan, himself a club cricketer in the late 1970s for the Enmore Cricket Club, toiled every afternoon trying to dismiss young Shahid, often unsuccessful in their endeavours and having to return the next day to continue the task.
Now, 18 months after Persaud uttered those words, the 14-year-old Ramzan, an elegant left-handed middle-order batsman and right-arm off-spinner, has booked his ticket to Antigua, having been selected in the Guyana team to compete in the Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Under-15, 50-over tournament from April 13-24.
Top age group cricketers from Barbados, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands will compete against the Guyanese for regional supremacy.
On a personal level, they will also aim to firmly place their name on the list of future stars of the sport in the Caribbean.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent at the regional level, and I want to thank the Guyana Cricket Board’s junior selection panel for believing that I’m worthy of wearing the national colours,” Ramzan said upon hearing news of his selection.
“Making the Guyana team wasn’t the easiest of things to do- it came with a lot of hard work and dedication. I was playing under a lot of pressure at times, because this was my last year to make the national team and I knew I had to make every opportunity count,” the youngster told the Guyana Times.
And that he did!

Consistent performances
In the Guyana Cricket Board Inter-County 50-over competition in February 2025, Ramzan made an impact with bat and ball, impressing the national selectors and earning a spot in the national 14-member squad.
He finished the competition with a total of 91 runs in three innings, the second most by an individual batsman behind Demerara’s captain Brandon Henry (92).
The left-handed Ramzan scored a run-a-ball 10 against the Select XI, 51 off 98 against Essequibo and 30 off 60 against Berbice.
He was one of only three batsmen to score a fifty in the tournament. For good measure, he picked up 3-27 against Essequibo to cop the Player-of-the-Match award.

Ramzan had earlier made the Demerara team on the back of some impressive performances in the Demerara Cricket Board’s Inter-Association tournament in December 2024. Appointed skipper of the Select XI, Ramzan starred with bat and ball, copping two Player-of-the-Match awards in three completed games.
After scoring 25 in his team’s opening defeat to champions Georgetown, Ramzan led his team to back-to-back wins over West Demerara and East Bank. Against West Demerara at the Transport ground, Ramzan picked up 3-14 and made a match-winning 45 not out.
The following day, at the Farm ground, he picked up 4-13 and led the successful run-chase with an unbeaten 42. His team’s final match against East Coast at the LBI ground was washed out, but his performances helped the Select XI to finish second overall behind Georgetown.

Grateful
“These achievements would not have been possible without the support of my family, the senior guys at GCC who are always willing to share their experiences with me and the various coaches, especially coach Peter and coach (Shaun) Massiah, who always encourage me to give of my best,” Ramzan, who hails from Enmore, East Coast Demerara, related.
The Mae’s Secondary School Third Form student has also had to balance his cricket ambitions with academics at this critical stage of his development. “At first it was very challenging, and while I have not been able to totally balance the two, I can say I’ve made a lot of progress over the last year,” Ramzan explained.
“What I try to do is not let the two overlap — at school I focus solely on studies and on the cricket field, it’s all about cricket.”

Reflecting on the last 18 months and significant strides made in the game, Ramzan, whose role model is the West Indies middle-order batsman Alick Athanaze, said it has been progressive and rewarding.
“Prior to the camp in August 2023, I never played hardball, so that was a whole new undertaking. On the last day of that camp we had a game and I batted out the entire 20 overs and made 23 not out. I was drained because the sun was hot, but I enjoyed the experience,” Ramzan recounted.

“After that when I joined GCC everyone there was very helpful in guiding me through the process and they made it easy for me to groove into the game.”
Constantly watching cricket on television and expanding his knowledge on the sport has helped young Ramzan to quickly elevate his game, and fully grasp an understanding on what is required to foster success, both on and off the field.
A month away from the regional tournament, Ramzan is working to incorporate the experiences gained over the last year and a half to churn out more match-winning performances and help Guyana to win the title.
“That’s the aim,” Ramzan concluded. The Guyana Times Sport wishes Ramzan and his team members the very best in the regional tournament.