He gave up on his cricketing dream in heartbreak. Twenty years later, an eye injury nearly ended his comeback before it began. But Taraknath Roy refused to walk away again. His reward? 18,831 runs, 438 wickets and the honour of wearing India's jersey at the age of 46.
From a garage painter’s son in Guwahati to representing India at the Veterans Over-40 World Cup, Taraknath Roy’s journey is a reminder that sometimes, the second innings of life produces the most beautiful stories.
There are cricketers who spend their lives chasing runs, wickets and trophies. Then there are those who play for something far deeper — a childhood dream, a father’s blessings, the joy of belonging to a team, and the chance to prove that it is never too late to begin again.
Taraknath Roy belongs to the second category.
At 48, Roy has built an impressive record in Kolkata’s corporate cricket circuit, scoring thousands of runs and taking hundreds of wickets. He has travelled across countries playing amateur and corporate cricket, and in 2024, he achieved something that every cricketer dreams of — wearing the Indian jersey with the national flag on his chest.
But the numbers tell only a fraction of his story.
Behind every run is a dream that once lay shattered. Behind every wicket is a man who refused to give up. And behind the cricketer is a son who still carries the values of his father, a man whose greatest ambition was not to raise a famous sportsman, but to raise a good human being.
A father’s principles, a family’s sacrifices and a boy with a cricketing dream
Taraknath Roy’s roots lie in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, but he was born and brought up in Guwahati, Assam. He grew up in a middle-class family where life was not always easy. His father worked as a painter in a garage, earning a living through hard work and determination.
There were times when even meeting the family’s basic needs was difficult. Yet, in the middle of those struggles, his parents never stopped supporting their son — not just in life, but also in cricket.
For Roy, his father was his first hero.
A man of his word. A man of principles. A man who believed that character mattered more than circumstances.
His father wanted him to become a good human being. That lesson would stay with Roy long after his childhood, shaping the way he approached his career, his relationships and, eventually, his second innings in cricket.
Roy studied at Sri Guru Nanak School in Guwahati before completing his B.Com and MBA at Gauhati University. He later pursued an LLB from Vidyasagar University in West Bengal.
Education and cricket ran parallel in his early years. He represented his school and university, played district cricket and represented Assam at the Under-17 level. He even featured among the probables for the Ranji Trophy for two consecutive years.
For a young cricketer from a modest background, the dream of playing at the highest domestic level was no small ambition.
But dreams do not always follow the script we write for them.
In 1999–2000, Roy walked away from cricket, heartbroken by the absence of a viable professional career.
Sometimes, life does not give you the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to the thing you love most. You simply leave, carrying the unanswered questions with you.
For Roy, cricket would remain unfinished business.
From the classroom to corporate leadership
Life demanded that Roy move forward.
He began by teaching commerce students up to B.Com level at his own coaching institute in Guwahati. In 2002, he entered the corporate world through a chartered accountancy firm.
Five years later, he moved to Kolkata, a city where cricket is more than a sport — it is a shared language spoken in maidans, neighbourhood clubs, office corridors and crowded tea stalls.
Between 2009 and 2015, Roy served as Regional Head for Eastern India at a multinational company. In 2015, he took another major step by establishing his own private limited company.
His entrepreneurial journey expanded into multiple sectors, including real estate and construction, interior work, road construction materials, consultancy, travel and even a cricket bat repair unit.
From a boy who once dreamt of making it as a professional cricketer to a corporate professional and entrepreneur, Roy had built a life beyond the boundary ropes.
Yet, somewhere inside him, the cricketer was waiting.
And sometimes, all it takes is one invitation to bring that cricketer back to life.
October 20, 2019: The accident that could have ended everything
Just before the world changed with the COVID-19 pandemic, an unexpected opportunity arrived.
In 2019, Roy came across a Facebook post by his gym friend Rohan Dutta, who was organising an IPL-style tournament called the Let's Play Tournament at Vivekananda Park.
The idea excited him. After nearly 20 years away from leather-ball cricket, Roy called Rohan and expressed his willingness to play.
Rohan welcomed him.
For Roy, it was more than an invitation to join a tournament. It was a chance to reconnect with the version of himself he had left behind two decades earlier.
Then came October 20, 2019.
While practising in the nets at Bangur Boys High School, Roy was struck in his left eye by a rebounding ball from behind the wicket. His eyelid was torn, and he lost his vision in that eye for three days.
The injury was frightening. The tournament was approaching, and his participation was suddenly in doubt.
Rohan announced that a replacement would be needed.
But Roy had other plans.
He told his friend that he would play, even if he had to do so with one eye.
Think about that for a moment.
A man who had spent 20 years away from the game had finally found his way back. Before he could even take the field, an accident threatened to take that opportunity away from him.
For many, withdrawing would have been understandable. For Roy, walking away again was simply not an option.
His comeback would not begin with a perfect cover drive or a spectacular bowling spell. It would begin with a decision — to show up despite the fear, the pain and the uncertainty.
Thirteen balls. Thirty-nine runs. A comeback to remember.
On November 30, 2019, Taraknath Roy played his first Kolkata corporate cricket match.
And what a return it was.
In the opening match itself, he scored an unbeaten 39 off just 13 balls, helping his team turn a losing position into victory.
After two decades away from competitive leather-ball cricket, Roy had announced his return in the most emphatic way possible.
But the bigger victory was not the score.
It was the fact that he was back.
The tournament ended, however, and finding another team proved difficult. The comeback had started, but the road ahead was uncertain.
In February 2020, Roy joined Pal & Chatterjee Cricket Academy, where Pankaj Pal gave him an opportunity to play for his team.
That opportunity would produce one of the most memorable matches of Roy’s corporate cricket journey.
The consolation over that became a match-winning spell
March 14, 2020. Prachesta T20 Corporate Cup.
Roy’s team was defending a total and appeared to be heading towards defeat. The opposition needed 16 runs from 12 balls.
With the game seemingly slipping away, the captain handed Roy the ball for what looked like a consolation over.
Sometimes, cricket gives you a moment when nobody expects you to change the game. You are simply asked to do a job, and you have to decide what to do with that chance.
Roy delivered a sequence that turned the match on its head.
The first ball disappeared for a boundary after a dropped catch. But rather than allowing the setback to define the over, he fought back.
The second delivery produced a run-out, with Roy directly involved.
The third batter was bowled.
The fourth batter was bowled too.
The fifth was stumped.
The sixth delivery was a dot ball.
Five runs, three dismissals credited to Roy's bowling sequence in the over, and a run-out contribution — the momentum had changed dramatically.
The next over brought another twist. Roy took a catch at long-on, and the opposition was eventually bowled out for 171, with five wickets falling without a run being added during that collapse.
His team won.
The match, available on CricHeroes dated March 14, 2020, became a defining moment in his return to competitive cricket.
The captain had given him the ball as a last resort. Roy turned that over into a reason to believe.
And then, just days later, cricket — like the rest of the world — came to a standstill.
On March 24, 2020, India entered lockdown.
Once again, Roy had to wait.
The second innings begins
After lockdown, Roy resumed his practice under the guidance of Pankaj Pal.
This time, the return was not about proving himself in one match. It was about building something sustainable — improving his game, finding consistency and making up for the years he had lost.
The boy who once left cricket with a broken heart had become a man who understood the value of a second chance.
Under the lights and on the grounds of Kolkata's corporate cricket circuit, he began writing a new chapter.
As of October 29, 2026, Roy's reported corporate cricket statistics in leather-ball cricket stand at:
- 18,831 runs
- 26 centuries
- 128 half-centuries
- 438 wickets
An average of approximately 40 runs
According to his account of CricHeroes records, he has remained among Kolkata's top five batters over the past six years.
These are remarkable numbers for a cricketer whose competitive leather-ball journey resumed after a 20-year break.
They also tell us something about the environment that made this second innings possible. Corporate cricket offers players an opportunity to keep competing, improving and sharing the dressing room long after the conventional route to professional cricket has closed.
For Roy, it became a place where ambition could live again.
From Kolkata's corporate grounds to wearing India's jersey
The journey did not stop at Kolkata.
While playing corporate cricket, Roy got an opportunity to attend a selection camp under veteran cricketer Surinder Khanna.
He also shared the 22 yards with players such as Rajesh Chauhan, Pravin Tambe, Shadab Jakati and Wasim Jaffer.
Then came the moment that brought his journey full circle.
In 2024, Roy was selected to represent India at the Veterans Over-40 World Cup in South Africa.
He wore the Indian jersey, with the national flag on his chest.
For a cricketer who had once walked away from the game in 1999–2000, this was far more than another selection. It was the fulfilment of a dream that had survived disappointment, years away from the field and a serious eye injury.
Imagine the journey from those difficult childhood days in Guwahati to standing on an international cricket stage in South Africa.
Imagine the father who had taught his son the value of principles and perseverance, and the son who had carried those lessons through every turn in life.
Some achievements are measured by medals and scorecards. Others are measured by everything a person had to overcome to reach that moment.
Wearing India’s jersey was Roy's reminder that a dream can change its shape without losing its meaning.
A cricketer without borders
Roy's cricketing journey has since extended beyond Kolkata and India.
He has played for Surrey Warriors in junior county cricket in the UK, participated in a tournament in Bhutan under the ICC and Bhutan Cricket Council environment, and played amateur cricket in Sri Lanka, Nepal and the UAE.
He has also competed in different parts of India through amateur and corporate cricket.
For him, the game has become a bridge between people, places and generations.
Different grounds may have different conditions. Different teams may have different ambitions. But the essential language of cricket remains the same — trust your teammate, respect your opponent and give your best when your turn arrives.
That is a lesson Roy's journey has repeatedly reinforced.
More than runs and wickets: A mission for Kolkata corporate cricket
Today, Roy's ambitions extend beyond personal statistics.
As a founding member of Team 12th Man Sports Association, alongside other members, he wants to help create a healthier environment for Kolkata corporate cricket.
His vision is to make the sport a welcoming space where people can enjoy competitive cricket in the second innings of their lives.
That sentiment is at the heart of corporate cricket.
Not everyone will play for India. Not everyone will have a professional contract or walk out to a packed stadium. Many players have careers, businesses, families and responsibilities that take priority for years.
But the desire to compete does not necessarily disappear.
For some, cricket is a way to remain physically active. For others, it is an escape from the pressures of work. For many, it is friendship, camaraderie and the thrill of wearing a team jersey again.
And for someone like Roy, it can be a second chance at a dream that once seemed lost forever.
A healthier corporate cricket culture means more than organising tournaments. It means encouraging sportsmanship, creating opportunities for players of different abilities, prioritising safety and fitness, and building an environment where age is not treated as a reason to stop participating.
It means understanding that the person facing you across the pitch might be a business owner, a teacher, a parent or someone who once gave up cricket to meet life's responsibilities.
They are not just players. They are stories.
The innings that matters most
Taraknath Roy's life has been shaped by different roles: a son, a student, a teacher, a corporate professional, an entrepreneur, a cricketer and now a community builder.
His journey has not been a straight line from promise to success. It has been filled with difficult decisions, disappointment, an unexpected injury, years away from the game and the courage to start again.
Perhaps that is what makes his story so relatable to Kolkata's corporate cricket community.
Because the second innings of life is rarely about recreating the first. It is about discovering what still matters when the world tells you to move on.
Roy once left cricket heartbroken. Twenty years later, he returned with an injured eye and an unshakeable determination to play. He turned a seemingly lost match into a memorable victory, built a formidable record and eventually wore India's colours on an international stage.
Yet his ambition today is not only to add more runs or wickets to his name. It is to help create an environment where others can continue playing, too.
And perhaps that is the most meaningful legacy a cricketer can leave behind.
His father wanted him to become a good human being. Through the game he loves, Roy now has the opportunity to pass on those values — to teammates, younger players and everyone who believes that cricket can be more than a career.
Because sometimes, the most beautiful victories do not come when you lift a trophy.
They come when you return to the field after life has knocked you down, look at the 22 yards in front of you and decide that your story is not over yet.
