Robin Minz. (Courtesy: Robin Minz/Instagram)

No dream is too big if you have the dedication and skill set to work on it. Robin Minz, the first India tribal cricketer, to fetch a deal of INR 3.60 crore from Gujarat Titans will make his debut in IPL 2024. But his father Francis Xavier Minz, a retired army man, posted at the Birsa Munda International Airport in Ranchi has bigger dreams for his son.

Francis watched the Indian cricketers walk past him for the fourth Test in Ranchi. No one was able to recognize him but he hoped that someday Robin would also be in the Team India squad. “I see everyone coming out of the airport, but hardly anyone notices me. Why should they? I’m just a security guy here, one of the many,” Francis told the Indian Express.

The 21-year-old is known as Jharkhand”s Chris Gayle and the next Dhoni in the close circuit. But Francis knows he has  a long way to go to break into the Team India squad. “He has just started. The world has just about registered his name. Raasta abhi bhi lamba hain (the route to the Indian team is still a long way away),” he says.

Francis is living his dream through his son. He wanted to be a sportsman and played hockey, football, athletics in his town. But destiny had something else written for him. “Everyone knows the story. I played hockey and football in my village, and sometimes competed in athletics too. The SAI centre in Delhi called me for a football camp, but I couldn’t join because I didn’t have a photo of me at that time. My village didn’t have a studio. Then I didn’t pursue further. There was no time for it,” he said.