‘We were united and only thought of winning’ – Vidarbha cricketer Yash Rathod reflects on cricket, life and the road ahead | Firstsportz Exclusive
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Yash Rathod is someone who exudes class with his batting. A sense of calm is exemplified when he is at the crease. His shots are a thing of beauty and are never wayward. His patience and focus on timing is exemplary. His style is impeccable. His stance, astute. His awareness, top notch.
And he can pick up wickets with his left-arm spin-bowling as well! In short, he is what you call a complete package and it is clear that he is destined for greatness.
The Vidarbha cricketer is just 20 years of age. But the way he understands the game makes him seem like he is way ahead of his age. Right from a very young age when Rathod took up cricket, he has only gone from strength to strength. Armed with an arsenal of exemplary and elegant shots that make one recall the golden age of Test cricket, long before the hustle and bustle of T20 cricket, it is clear that Rathod is somebody who will make big waves in the cricketing world sooner rather than later.
A youngster destined for greatness
The southpaw has a plethora of achievements to his name already. Rathod made waves in Indian cricket with his stupendous performances in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2017-18. He scored a whopping 945 runs with an average of 94.5 in the tournament that also included 5 centuries and 2 half-centuries. His performances led Vidarbha U-19 to the Cooch Behar title for the first time in their entire history. Rathod also shone in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy by emerging as the second highest run-scorer before coming good in the Inter Zonal Trophy. His performances at the U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy have also been nothing short of remarkable.
Rathod had only begun. Following the Cooch Behar Trophy, he was called up to the Indian U-19 squad for India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2018. His performances in the tour were more than decent as he crossed 30 runs in each match he played. Rathod had ticked every box that needed to be ticked to be picked for first-class cricket. But the call-up did not come. However, it is evident now that Vidarbha will clearly be a much better team with Rathod in it and hence a call-up is imminent.
Yash Rathod opens up
Yash Rathod spoke to firstsportz in an exclusive interview and reflected on his early life, coaches, idols, teammates among other things.
Rathod’s tryst with cricket started at a very young age. He was just 3 when he picked up the cricket bat! The reasons were very simple, Rathod’s ‘bade papa’ dreamed of playing cricket but unfortunately could not realize his dreams. It was his decision that if a boy is born in the family, he would go on to become a cricketer. Yash was born and hence, begun a journey of an extraordinary talent.
‘Have always looked up to Gambhir’
When asked about the cricketer he has always looked up to, there was no iota of doubt in Rathod’s reply that it was Gautam Gambhir. And if you’re someone who has watched Rathod bat, you’d know how and why he looks up to Gambhir. The way Rathod uses his footwork against the spinners and finds gaps to perfection very clearly resemble the same ability that the great Gautam Gambhir had.
“I’ve watched Gautam Gambhir play for India. I love the way he bats and have always looked up to him. I love the way he plays even in T20 cricket without hitting sixes and displays superb footwork against the spinners. He preferred gaps over huge sixes and that is exactly what I prefer as well. Picking the gaps has lesser risks than going for a big shot. You can consistently find the gaps if you work hard on your technique but when it comes to hitting huge sixes, it is difficult to be consistent,” Rathod said.
As was the case with Gambhir, Rathod’s pleasing shots have earned him a plethora of fans, none more so than kids who practice at the same club as him. Kids can be seen cheering ardently for Rathod when he plays his trademark fluent knocks. Speaking about the kids, “The kids love me. They love to see me bat. They always feel that I can play higher up the order. Whenever they have doubts about cricket, they will ask me and I will clear their doubts,” Yash said.
Challenging COVID-19 lockdown
Like was the case with most of the sportspersons in the word, Rathod also found the COVID-19 pandemic situation to be challenging. He had felt that he didn’t perform up to the mark in the previous season and had wanted to get back in form. But the pandemic made it difficult for him to practice. The ever so confident all-rounder however looked at the brighter side of the lockdown.
He said, “I got time to analyze myself and my performances during the lockdown. I worked hard on my strength at home. The lockdown also helped me spend some quality time with my family. I learned a lot of things and I got mentally strong and mature as a person.”
Yash speaks on U-19, Ranji and IPL
Yash spoke about his U-19 days and stressed on the importance of U-19 being the best platform to kickstart one’s career. In his stint with the U-19 team, Rathod had played with youngsters who are lighting up the IPL at the moment such as Devdutt Padikkal and Shivam Mavi. Speaking about the two, Rathod said, “I think Devdutt and Shivam are fantastic players. They have a very bright future. Both are the kind of persons that display exemplary humility. I always love playing with them.”
Rathod further stated that U-19 is what gets one recognition in the country that could lead to avenues for the Indian Premier League opening up. But Yash was clear in his mentality that it is the Ranji Trophy and first-class cricket that he wants to perform well in before eyeing the IPL.
Rathod then spoke about Vidarbha’s recent surge in the domestic circuit. He spoke on what changed that helped the domestic side clinch trophies like the Ranji, Irani, Vijay Merchant and Cooch Behar in quick succession. The 20-year-old credited former Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit and the mentality he brought to the side.
“When Chandu (Chandrakant Pandit) came in as coach, he had a clear mindset to win the trophy. Everyday, everybody used to think about winning the trophy. Unity was the key factor. We practiced together, had classes on mental toughness and skills. Every facility including match simulation, nets, indoor practice and video analysis was provided to us. I feel all credit for Vidarbha’s recent turnaround in fortunes goes to VCA staff and coaches.”
Rathod was also all praise for his dear friend and Vidarbha U-19 captain Atharva Taide. He said, “Atharva is one of my very good friends. The best thing about him is his understanding of the game that is unmatched.”
Yash looks back
From the innumerable knocks he has played, we asked Rathod to pick his favorite knock. His pick was the double-century in his successful Cooch Behar trophy campaign that came against Himachal Pradesh at Nagpur. The reason for his pick was the fact that the knock had come when his side were reeling at 0 for 2 when Yash walked in. 223 runs then came off the blade of Rathod to rescue Vidarbha from a situation of despair and turn it to one of strength.
Before Rathod signed off, we asked him as to what the most important piece of advice he has received with regard to cricket is. The youngster in response, recalled his beloved ‘Bade Papa’s’ advice that he must always look to score runs of the order of four digits in a season. He said, “When I was discussing about the upcoming season with my bade papa, I said that I wanted to score 700-800 runs in the season. Bade Papa replied saying, ‘Three digit scores always look good in an innings. But if you are thinking about the season, it must be four digits.’ This is the best piece of advice I have received.”
Yash’s responses during our interview with him were as crisp as his cricket shots. The Vidarbha man has come a long way in his cricket career. He has a long way to go and because of the sheer amount of talent that he has, his mentality and hard work, it is clear that this man – Yash Rathod, is a superstar in the making.
Also Read: Exclusive interview with Paralympic champion Varun Bhati
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Nevin Clinton
(2399 Articles Published)