Seldom does Indian cricket see a pace bowler who hurls bullets at batsmen. In Domnic Joseph, Maharashtra have someone who not only bowls bullets but makes them as well. Literally.
Joseph, who consistently clocks speeds around mid-130 kph, is employed with Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK) in Pune's cantonment area. It's an erstwhile British arms manufacturing unit that has now been converted into the Indian government's premier small arms production company. For eight years now, whenever Joseph is not playing cricket, he is busy manufacturing revolver bullets.
Joseph is 32, and only began playing first-class cricket three years ago. There are two reasons for this. The death of his father, who had been a driver at AFK, meant cricket was not a priority. "I had three older sisters, and I started playing again only after all of them were married and settled and once I got married as well."
The second reason is his unconventional cricketing journey. A major step in this journey was a change in job description. "After doing a desk job at the High Explosives Factory for three years, I sought a transfer to AFK," Joseph says. "We have about six stations with massive machines. Every minute we produce 100 bullets and 17,000 in each of the two shifts."
The transfer to AFK allowed him to pay more attention to his cricket. Working at AFK, where he manufactured .32 bullets - "the same ones that are used in all the police revolvers" - he became eligible to represent them in the Industrial League. This prompted his employers to let him leave two hours earlier than usual so he could train. Soon, he became a familiar face in Pune's club arena.
After facing him in the Industrial League, a couple of Maharashtra regulars recommended his name to Surendra Bhave, then an India selector and now Maharashtra's coach.
"We invited him for a session at the Cadence Academy (where Bhave is head coach) just before the 2011 season and I was mightily impressed," Bhave says.
What followed over the next three days was a fairytale for Joseph. Bhave asked the then Maharashtra coach Shaun Williams to have a look at him the next day. On the third day, both approached Pandurang Salgaoncar, the former fast bowler who was the chief selector. "All three of us were convinced that he was ready for first-class cricket, so we selected him and he didn't let us down at all," Bhave says.
Though he has been plagued with injuries during his roller-coaster career, Joseph has impressed most of his opponents with his heavy ball. This season, it has fetched him 13 wickets in four matches at 22.84. Even Wasim Jaffer, the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy history, was watching him closely while he bowled at the Wankhede nets on the eve of Maharashtra's quarterfinal against Mumbai.
Joseph hasn't fully recovered from a hamstring pull that forced him to skip Maharashtra's last league game, but the team management might take a chance with him, considering the Wankhede pitch is likely to assist pace bowlers. If he does get a go, the bowler who had "never ever imagined playing competitive cricket, let alone Ranji Trophy" will play the biggest match of a short career.