Vidarbha fast bowler Aditya Thakare selected as a net bowler for RCB, will travel with the squad to the UAE

In view of the bio-security protocols put forth by the stakeholders, IPL franchises will be taking young Indian bowlers with them to the UAE as net bowlers.

While some of the prodigies are losing sleep over this possibility, Vidarbha fast bowler Aditya Thakare is in dreamland after already being pitchforked into the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup.

A Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) source told Times of India:

“He is going through a series of Covid-19 tests as has been the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) given by the BCCI to franchise. It’s great to see Aditya in the RCB fold. If he impresses the support staff and skipper Virat Kohli in nets, who knows where he can land?”

Aditya Thakare was thrust into the spotlight when he was picked by then-Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit for the Ranji Trophy final against Delhi in 2017. In fact, he had opened the bowling and picked two wickets, including one of Nitish Rana, in the first innings of the match which ultimately saw Vidarbha lift the Ranji Trophy for the first time.

The 21-year-old has since been taking his performances up a notch. He was once again in the news after scalping 12 wickets against Rajasthan U-23 in the Col. CK Nayudu Trophy last season. He followed it up by taking seven wickets in the very next match against Punjab U-23.

Aditya Thakare was merited with a call-up to the Ranji team and he immediately responded with a 7-wicket haul against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla in January this year. It was this spell which caught the attention of RCB Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson. The former Kiwi coach met him during the Hyderabad game in February and included him in the franchise’s development squad.

With performance came opportunity for Aditya Thakare

Speaking of Aditya Thakare, former Vidarbha coach Pandit said:

“It’s a second big opportunity for him after that Ranji final. He should make use of it and try to learn from international players in the RCB fold. He should not think only to play Twenty20. He should work hard on other aspects of his game. I hope this turns out to be a good learning curve for Aditya.”

The IPL franchises normally select local players as net bowlers but the pandemic has forced them to bend the rules this season. This change has, however, worked as a blessing in disguise for a lot of promising Indian talent, with all the IPL sides now busy preparing a roster for their nets session.

Aditya Thakare was also called up to the India U-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2018 as a replacement for Ishan Porel. He, however, didn’t play any of the games. Interestingly, he became just the second Vidarbha player to be part of an U-19 World Cup after Faiz Fazal, who was interestingly replaced by Shikhar Dhawan in the 2004 edition.