The opportunity came through his long-time coach Subu and the relationship between Chicago Youth Cricket Academy and Achievers Cricket Academy in Mumbai. What Subu could offer was access to the academy and an environment in which Nithiyanandam could train every day. There were no assurances, however, that any of Mumbai’s fiercely competitive A Division clubs would actually pick him. It made the eight-month move something of a blind gamble. Nithiyanandam was willing to take it anyway, driven by little more than the conviction that immersing himself in Mumbai, the nursery of Indian cricket, would make him a better player. Getting into a team, and then staying there, would be entirely up to him.