It is not an easy task to crack the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) examination in India. There are lakhs of aspirants in the country, looking for a shot to clear the UPSC exam and toil hard for years to succeed.
However, there is a former cricketer from India who has not only managed to crack the UPSC but has also represented India at the highest level. We are talking about former Madhya Pradesh and India southpaw Amay Khurasiya.
Born in Jabalpur, MP, in 1972, Khurasiya was a dasher and a big-hitter in the pre-T20 cricket era. The left-handed batter played during the times when batting cautiously was considered to be the ideal mantra. But Khurasiya had his own rules which made him an exciting prospect to watch.
After scoring tons of runs at the domestic level, Khurasiya finally made his debut in the 1999 Pepsi Cup – a tri-series tournament involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka against the reigning ODI champions Sri Lanka. He became the eighth Indian batter to score a fifty on ODI debut, scoring 57 off just 45 balls in Pune – putting on 125 runs with skipper Ajay Jadeja in an India win.
Ajay Jadeja Captains innings of 103* & Amay Khurasiya 57 @ Pune #ONTHISDAY 30-03-1999 help India qualify for the Final of Pepsi Cup Final with one match left.
286/6 bat first
235 All out. pic.twitter.com/DebovbwSyh— Zohaib (Cricket King) (@Zohaib1981) March 30, 2023
However, he couldn’t quite live up to his potential, scoring only 149 runs in 12 ODI matches with a solitary fifty as his technique was found wanting. He was selected in the India squad for the 1999 ODI World Cup in the United Kingdom but didn’t play a single game in the tournament.
In tournaments like Aiwa Cup in Sri Lanka and Coca-Cola Challenger in Singapore, he managed to score just 66 runs in 5 matches. However, he was a prolific run-getter for MP in domestic cricket. He played along side the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
Khurasiya scored 7,304 runs at an average of 40.8 in 119 first-class games with 21 centuries and 31 fifties. In 112 List ‘A’ matches, he scored 3,768 runs at an average of 38.06 with a best of 157 with 4 hundreds and 26 fifties.
The 52-year-old cleared the UPSC exam before he made his India debut. His first passion was always cricket which is why, despite clearing UPSC, he decided to pursue a career as a batter.
According to media reports, Amay Khurasiya is currently posted as an Inspector in the Indian Customs & Central Excise Department. In addition to this he has also mentored other cricketers from MP like Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Rajat Patidar and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Avesh Khan.
