Aditya Garhwal — the Chhota Sehwag who is making waves

Aditya Garhwal.

A bat from Suresh Raina and a pat from his team! For Aditya Garhwal, an athletic 18-year-old, it was a dream day at the Mohun Meakin ground here as he hit a double century, his second of the tournament.

His astonishing run with the bat, 763 runs from five innings in the Vinoo Mankad (under-19) one-day championship for Central Zone, has triggered off a race among agents and sponsors to grab him.

“The best gift of my life,” he gushed as he felt the bat. Raina is his new-found fan. “I would have loved to see him bat. I am sure I’ll get to in the near future,’ said the India all-rounder. The 6-feet tall second-year commerce student has set his sights on the goal envisaged by former Rajasthan batsman Anshu Jain. “He is a very natural cricketer. I don’t want Aditya to curb his instinct to belt the ball. He looks always to clear the man at long-on or long-off. I want him to bat the same way,” said Jain of his star pupil.

They call him

Chhota Sehwag (little Sehwag) for his imperious stroke-play because he often scores more runs than balls faced. “He can pierce the field at will, hit inside-out, kill good balls,” was the quick fire assessment by team coach Sharad Joshi, a former first-class cricketer. Aditya is not a precocious talent. Last year, he made a mere 60 from five innings in the same tournament. “I was depressed and disturbed and wanted to quit,” confessed the batsman, who hails from Sikar, a town known more for valour than cricket. Jain convinced him to continue and Aditya can now afford to look back with pride.

His sensational aggregate of 763 off 519 balls, with 38 sixes and 68 fours, left the opponents in turmoil. His sequence was 32 (v Uttar Pradesh), 263 not out (v Railways), 196 (v Madhya Pradesh), 212 (v Vidarbha) and 60 (v Chhattisgarh).

“My father (electrical engineer Narendra) wanted me to play cricket,” said Aditya. So did his mother (Savita), a chemistry professor. And Aditya did precisely that.

Former Test stumper Sadanand Viswanath, an umpire in this tournament, found Aditya “technically equipped.” The bowlers discovered he was also blessed with the ability to play every shot. “He has a great appetite to dominate.  I have seen the punch in his shots since he was 15, hitting the ball long,” said childhood coach Hitendra Saharan of Aditya.

The Chhota Sehwag is on the right track to emulate the original!