'Sachme? India Ke Liye?': What It Feels Like When Your Son Gets His Maiden India Call-Up

Last Updated:May 22, 2026, 17:28 IST

It was meant to be a congratulatory call to Harsh Dubey's father, Surendra, but it turned out to be one that broke the news of his India selection. His reaction was unforgettable.

Harsh Dubey and his father, Surendra, are very emotionally mature and expressive men. So, throughout the young spin all-rounder’s career, every big moment has been marked by tears.

Harsh was 13 when he fulfilled one of his dreams by batting at the centre wicket of the Ruby Cricket Club. Unfortunately, he got run out without playing a ball and couldn’t hold back his tears walking to the dug-out; Surendra and Jyoti, Harsh’s mother, were in attendance, and their eyes welled up too. 

About ten years later, he won the 2025 Ranji Trophy with Vidarbha as the Player of the Tournament and a record-breaking wicket-taker, just about 2 kilometres away from that club ground at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium. The parents were again in the crowd, and the first time the father and son saw each other that day, Surendra cried vociferously, and Harsh secretively under his Oakley glasses.

News18 CricketNext got the first-hand experience of this stirring outpour of emotions on Tuesday. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia named Harsh in India’s squads for the Afghanistan Test and ODIs next month, his first national call-up, a call from this office went to Surendra.

It was supposed to be a congratulatory conversation. But, as it turned out, Surendra had no idea — he was going through his routine, drinking his black coffee before heading out to the nearby cricket ground.

When informed that his son has been called up for India, all he did was confirm and thank. It went something like this: Sachme? Sachme? India ke liye? Afghanistan? Sachme? Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

This website called him again on Friday, when the emotions had settled, to get a clearer tune of what he describes as one of the best moments of his life.

“I just froze," Surendra says. “I was so overwhelmed, I had no words at all, I couldn’t speak. The joy was such that words just wouldn’t come. A dream that both father and son had seen. For my son, of course, it was a massive dream. It was mine too, which I could see becoming a reality."

“I am so grateful to Bappa that I am able to speak with you today. Varna ye toh khushi aisi hai ki insaan oopar bhi chale jaata hai! I can’t express it; it still feels like a dream. I feel like someone should pinch me and tell me this isn’t a dream, that this is true. It’s the biggest news in our lives, in our family’s life," he adds.

A former officer of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Surendra was cricket-mad as a kid and would often get beaten up by his family members because they didn’t have the means to support his career then. Seeing his son live it again made it a no-brainer for him to leave his job, just to support Harsh’s career.

Soon, Jyoti, a school teacher, decided to dedicate herself completely to the journey as well.

For a decade, they saw Harsh make steady, independent gains in age-group and then senior domestic cricket. They saw him miss multiple close call-ups, like the Under-19 World Cup, decide to lose weight as a teenager, stop eating his favorite homely things, and how he never gave up.

“After speaking to you, I spoke to Harsh’s mother," Surendra says. “She was stunned, in shock, her face just froze. Then after a while, she settled down and said, ‘Dubey ji, ye abhi kisi ko bhi mat bolo until it’s official’ (Don’t tell anyone yet. Wait until the official announcement comes.) That’s because we have been through such things before [where it didn’t work out]."

It was a while until he could speak to Harsh, who was then sitting on the flight from Chennai to Hyderabad for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday (May 22). Then the calls and messages started to come in from all and sundry; it took him two days to reply to all.

“I have been an armyman and served my country; Listening to the word ‘India’, I was overjoyed to know my child will represent Bharat. What bigger happiness can there be for a mother and father? … It was just that one-of-a-kind happiness. Baap ka seena aur chaudha ho jaata hai jab log kehte hai, ‘Vo dekho Harsh ka papa ja raha hai’ (And a father’s chest swells with pride, when people say, ‘Look, that’s Harsh’s father passing by.’)

It’s a moment for longing, too. Surendra wishes that Harsh’s grandparents had been here to see him achieve a dream they lived for, too. He says Harsh would take his grandparents’ blessing before every big moment, and it doesn’t get much bigger than this.

“For a middle-class family like ours, this is a very big deal. The child playing for India, reaching here on his own hard work. Thanks to all the BCCI people, they saw something in him… All I will ask from Bappa is that he plays even further ahead, that he represents India, our Hindustan, for the next ten to fifteen years. May he focus on his game, keep progressing, and do well. It’s a world where, you know, there are so many players in the wait-list. To reach here is just another milestone."

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