From watching CPL to spinning Berbice to victory: Ravindra Persaud rising

By Brandon Corlette

Off-spinner Ravindra Persaud was a key man as he spun Berbice to championship honours at the recent Under-16 inter-county tournament.
The teenager, Persaud, fell in love with the game while watching the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with his father, Narindra Persaud, the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six.
According to the young Persaud, his father is his biggest inspiration. He also idolises international cricketers Gudakesh Motie, Nathan Lyon, and Moeen Ali.
Persaud earned Player of the Match with brilliant figures of 3-20 from 10 overs, including four maidens at the Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda. He claimed the prized scalp of Lomar Seecharran, Demerara’s talisman and arguably one of the best teenage batsmen in the country at present.

In an invited comment with this daily publication, Persaud reflected on his recent exploits with the ball and spoke about his eagerness to learn while balancing education and cricket.
“The feeling that I had when hearing I was Man of the Match was a really happy and proud feeling because it was the final. I was really excited when I removed Lomar from the crease because I knew that he was the top scorer for the team. The thing that worked well for me with the ball was just to bowl the good line and lengths that our coaches told us about prior to the match,” Persaud reflected.
While cricket is important for Persaud, education is also significant. He disclosed that prior to the inter-county, he had limited time to train due to extra lessons post school.
“My preparation for inter-county was not a lot because I could only practise one day in the week due to lessons; however, when I did go to practice, I tried to learn new variations with the ball.”
Persaud, who now plays locally for Rose Hall Canje Community Centre Ground, credited his coaches and senior players at the club.
“Some of the coaches that I learned from in this tournament are Coach Ameer Rahaman and Coach Seon Hetmyer,” he said.
The young off-spinner added, “My main takeaways would be that it’s important to be lively in the field and just to stick to the plans that we set and execute them well.” Persaud’s journey to the field: “Cricket started for me at a very young age when my father used to carry me to the CPL games every year, and it would just be me and him, and sometimes even the whole family.”
“The main person that inspired me in my cricket journey would be none other than my father, Narindra Persaud. He has been my biggest inspiration in cricket since I was a child and still is,” Ravindra said.
According to the youngster, he looks up to Lyon, Motie, and Ali because they are great spinners, and he is able to learn new things about spin.
Ravindra’s elder brother has also set the bar high educationally. Balancing is key for Ravindra, but it’s not an easy task.
“For me personally, it was hard to balance school and cricket because I love cricket so much that I used to go practice instead of lessons until my mother and father told me that I should learn to balance both education and cricket.”
“After that, I started to go for lessons and take in my education while at the same time kept playing cricket,” the young Persaud explained.
Like all young cricketers, representing Guyana and the West Indies is high on the agenda. For Ravindra Persaud, it’s no different, as he aims to be one of the best off-spinners.