Exclusive Interview: Suresh Raina's autographed bat was my biggest gift, says Rajasthan wonderboy Aditya Garhwal

Aditya Garhwal

He is perhaps the most exciting junior talent to emerge from the Indian cricket cauldron recently. Yes, you have heard it right! Rajasthan wonderboy Aditya Garhwal has made the entire nation sit up and take notice of him after his monumental knocks of 263, 196, 212 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy tourney.

Such tall scores are a rarity in a 50-over game, but this 18-year Sikar-born youngster chose to push boundaries, ensuring all attention was riveted on him as he bludgeoned the opposition to submission.

Aditya’s eye-catching performances had a big say in the Delhi Daredevils summoning him for selection trials recently. The B.Com second-year student, who is yet to make his Ranji Trophy debut, spoke to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview.

Here are the excerpts:

Q. You were an absolute non-entity in Indian cricket until you came up with scintillating knocks of 263, 196 and 212 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy Central Zone One-Day Tourney. Suddenly you are talked about as the most exciting junior talent to emerge. How does it feel?

It’s a great feeling when you know you are grabbing eyeballs for the right reasons. As for me, I just wanted to bat well for Rajasthan and was glad that I was able to play my part in my team’s success.

Q. At the same tournament last year, you managed just 60 runs off five matches. What a turnaround it has been for you!

I was struggling to be among the runs last season at the same tournament, but this season I have turned over a new leaf. I’m pretty chuffed that I was able to atone for my disappointing showing in the same tourney last season.

Q. You kickstarted off the tournament clubbing an eye-catching 263 off 151 balls against Railways, before going on to smash 196 off 137 balls against Madhya Pradesh and hammering 212 off 132 balls against Vidarbha, amassing 763 runs from five games, studded with 68 fours and 38 sixes.

I was living a dream – getting ‘big runs’ consistently does not come easily. I guess I was in great nick and everything worked well for me. I gave a couple of chances in my knock of 196, but was highly satisfied with my innings of 212 against Vidarbha as the strip was a bowler-friendly one and getting runs was not easy.

Q. There is a talk by some former cricketers that you really pack a punch with your shots and clear the boundaries with ease.

Well, I’m quite lean and try to play my natural game. Hitting big sixes comes naturally to me and I relish that.

Q. You must have been thrilled to bits when you received an autographed bat from Indian cricketer Suresh Raina.

Absolutely! Getting an autographed bat from Suresh Raina was the biggest gift of my life. Raina’s elder brother came to the ground during our game against Vidharbha and handed me the bat on behalf of the Indian cricketer. His elder brother also told me that he will ensure a meet-up between Raina and me someday. I was really feeling overjoyed at his gesture.

Q. You were called up for the Delhi Daredevils trials recently. How was it?

It went off well, I got an opportunity to meet Virender Sehwag paaji during the trials. I’m optimistic about the future.

Q. You have not yet played for the Rajasthan Ranji side this season. Any regrets?

Not really. I’m happy to play for the Rajasthan under-19 side as the Rajasthan Cricket Association desire. I know my time will come as I have age on my side. At the moment, I’m just looking to perform whatever platform I get.

Q. As a junior cricketer, how do you assess the standard of domestic cricket in India?

Domestic cricket has improved leaps and bounds over the last few years. We now have more bowler-friendly decks for domestic matches and notching up tall scores is a challenge. Batters have to really work hard for their runs and matches are producing results inside four days and drab draws are a thing of the past.

Q. Every cricketer dreams of playing for the country. Do you think your exploits in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy Central Zone One-Day Tourney will fast-track your aspirations of playing for India?

Like any cricketer, I have the same desire to play for India one day. Test cricket is something that excites me although I’m keen to play in all the versions be it ODIs or T20s. As a cricketer, one has to adapt to all formats and conditions, and I’m working towards that. I want my performances to do all the talking.