I used to wash my cricket clothing as soon as I got home from the morning session when I was a kid because I just had one pair. The garments would air dry in the sun while I ate my lunch, and I would wear them again in the afternoon. For me to wear the identical outfit the next morning, the routine was repeated in the evening.

Other than my pockets, the system functioned flawlessly. I played with wet pockets the entire time I was at camp since there was never quite enough time for them to dry out. By midway through the summer camp, Sir had been rather interested in my batting and, after two months, he told Ajit that, with year-round practice, I could become a decent cricketer. But Sir was keen for me to transfer schools if I wanted to take cricket seriously, and my school, the New English School in Bandra, lacked cricket facilities.

Sir gave my father a call one evening and made his recommendation. When Ajit and my father were in the room together, they agreed that it was essential if I was going to make cricket my top focus. My father sat me down and told me that although he had no problem with me switching schools, I should only do it if I was a very committed cricket player.

It was decided that I should relocate to Shardashram Vidhya mandir, where Achrekar Sir was the cricket coach after I gave him my word that I was. My surplus energy was being directed towards cricket, which served as a sort of safety net. My father used to say that all he expected of me was to put in my best effort and not worry about the outcome.

I participated in fifty-five practice matches throughout the sixty-day summer break in my first year at Shardashram. In the past, my summer classes would begin at 7.30 am and end at 4.30 pm. My evening class would begin at 5 p.m. with just a brief 30-minute intermission.
Sir would frequently give me some cash during the break so I could go get a vada pav, a renowned fast food item from Mumbai.

I would have five more net sessions from 5 to 7 p.m. In the final fifteen minutes, Sir would deposit a one rupee coin on top of the stumps; if I could stay inside without falling out, the coin belonged to me. Approximately sixty to seventy youngsters would field as every bowler in the camp came to bowl to me during this session. That meant that to get through those grueling fifteen minutes, I had to hit every ball along the ground.