As KL Rahul sat dejected after India’s World Cup final loss to Australia in Ahmedabad, Ashok Menaria, his captain from the 2010 U-19 World Cup, geared up for yet another domestic stint in the same city. Their career paths couldn’t have been more different.
An India cap may now be a distant dream for the 33-year-old Menaria, but 88 First-Class and 103 List-A games speak of a distinguished career in domestic cricket.
In the current season, Menaria has moved to Haryana, bidding farewell to his home state of Rajasthan after 15 years. Despite not achieving the national recognition he once aspired to, Menaria expresses no regrets. He has accepted that donning the Indian colours at the highest level may remain a distant dream for him. Now, in his new cricketing journey, he aims to enjoy the game in the ‘remaining seasons’ of his career.
In 2012, Sunil Gavaskar identified Menaria as ‘one for the future’ after his pivotal role in Rajasthan’s back-to-back Ranji Trophy triumphs in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Members of the Rajasthan cricket team and Rajasthan Cricket Association President C.P. Joshi celebrate with the Ranji Trophy after beating Baroda in the final of the championship at Vadodara. | Photo Credit: PTI
“Everyone looks at my statistics and tends to believe that everything was just fine around that time. Only I know what went through,” Menaria tells Sportstar, sitting at the lounge of a plush Ahmedabad hotel.
Menaria watched the World Cup final on television and cheered for his friend Rahul. He had hoped for India’s ICC title jinx to end under Rahul Dravid, who had captained Menaria during his time at Rajasthan Royals.
However, things didn’t work out for India as well as for Menaria in the way he had hoped.
In the middle of 2010, he underwent surgery for Gilmore’s groin (acute or chronic groin pain) in Germany. However, after remaining out of action for about seven months, Menaria made a strong comeback with a century against Mumbai in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy that season. He followed it up with another hundred against Tamil Nadu in the semifinals, thus consolidating his position. His dream run continued in the final with a second-innings century against Baroda, which paved the way for Rajasthan’s maiden Ranji Trophy title.
He eventually landed a contract with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but those days now feel like a distant memory.
Rajasthan Royals batter Ashok Menaria playing against Chennai Super Kings during their match in the fifth edition of Indian Premier League at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on in 2012. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU
With a wry smile, Menaria says, “People know that I had only a couple of surgeries, and I was fine otherwise. But that wasn’t the case. If I tell you the truth, I don’t think too many players have suffered as many injuries as me. Over the last 13–14 years, do mahine bhi aise nahi the where I was injury-free (There weren’t even two months when I was injury-free).
“Either my ankle was injured, or my knee or my shoulder needed surgery. I have been struggling. A lot of people say that one needs to improve on batting; back in those days, even I thought so. But yeh sab kar ne ke liye, you need to be on the ground, and you need to practise regularly. Main kabhi itni practise kar hi nahi paya, because half the time I was on the bed, under close monitoring of the doctors.
“It was not that I was injury-prone as a child. I have always led a healthy lifestyle and have never had junk food. I did everything I could to play for the country. But nothing worked for me. Throughout my career, I have played with pain.”
Before leading India in the U-19 World Cup, Menaria captained the Rajasthan U-19 side in the 2008–09 Cooch Behar Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy. He also made his debut in First-Class cricket for the state in the same season.
In those days, when Rajasthan was in the Plate division before it reached the Elite level, Menaria gradually established himself as a reliable all-rounder.
Indian Under-19 cricket team captain Ashok Menaria (left) with coach Chandrakant Pandit in Mumbai on December 19, 2009 prior to their departure for the tri-series in South Africa and the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2010 in New Zealand. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre/The Hindu
“When you captain India U-19, everyone expects you to play for the senior team soon. I chased my dreams but when your body does not allow you to push beyond a point, you really can’t do much,” he says.
“In a competitive sport like cricket, it is not possible to stay away from the game for so long and then come back and be at your best. Even now, I am battling with injuries. I underwent knee surgery a couple of months ago,” he says, adding with a smile, “Chal raha hai bas. Just when you think everything is okay, kuchh na kuchh ho jaata hai.”
In his younger years, frequent injuries would often frustrate Menaria, leading him to contemplate quitting the game. However, with the support of his family and Anirudh Chaudhry, the former BCCI treasurer and manager of the India U-19 team in 2010, Menaria found encouragement to persevere.
“There were times when I thought, ‘If I can’t play cricket, then what will I do?’ Khel ke bhi kya karenge? Khel bhi liya toh do match baad fir unfit ho jaunga. Such was the mental space back then. But around that time, I spoke to Anirudh sir, and as a mentor, he guided me and encouraged me a lot. He gave me a lot of examples of former cricketers, and that eventually helped me change my decision,” he says.
However, Menaria’s struggles continued unabated. In 2011, while playing for Rajasthan Royals, Menaria removed Sachin Tendulkar for his first IPL wicket. It was a significant moment in his career, but the joy was short-lived as another injury post-season kept him out of action for an extended period.
“Can you imagine? I could not play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for five seasons because of some or the other injury. Agar koi Mushtaq Ali Trophy hi nahi khelega, woh kaise aagey jaa ke IPL khelega? (If someone does not play Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, how will he graduate to IPL)” he says.
“People often say that a player made a comeback. For me, every season is a comeback because I come back from long injury layoffs and then try to make a mark. Aisa hi chal raha hai (That’s how things are now).”
This year, despite joining Haryana, Menaria couldn’t participate in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy due to knee surgery. Now back as the captain, he aims to make an impact in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the recent match against Uttarakhand, he played a crucial role, remaining unbeaten on 44 as his team secured a six-wicket win.
Menaria, now a family man, cherishes moments with his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. With maturity, he has learned to handle disappointments and failures, in contrast to his early twenties.
“When you are young, you tend to pay a lot of attention to what is being said about you. Many thought that money and fame got to me, but now that I know what I went through, those things don’t hurt me,” he says.
Chaudhry has played a big role in Menaria’s career. He was instrumental in getting Menaria on board for Haryana this year once the all-rounder made up his mind to leave Rajasthan. “Whenever I was down, I would speak to him, and his words encouraged me.”
When he started playing the game, mental health was unheard of. But over the last 14 years, Menaria has realised its importance.
“In 2015, I was down with injuries again, and I squandered whatever limited opportunities came my way. Suddenly, one day, I started vomiting continuously. Initially, I thought it was a case of food poisoning. But after consulting with the doctor, we did all the tests, and nothing could be detected. Someone told me that it was a case of anxiety and depression,” he says.
“Of course, I did not believe it. I thought I was a cheerful, fun-loving, brave cricketer; how could I have anxiety issues? But tests revealed that it was indeed anxiety. I had to take anti-anxiety medicines for a month, and slowly I recovered. Those days taught me the importance of mental health.”
Menaria also stressed the need for an alternative career.
“I did not have an alternative. I had captained India U-19 in the World Cup, so things were different. I did not bother looking at anything else, and the whole idea was to play for India. But my journey has taught me that if you are a youngster and want to build a cricket career, it is a must to have an alternative, because not everyone will play for India U-19.”
As Menaria speaks, he remembers those days with Rajasthan Royals, when the late Shane Warne advised him to stay away from distractions. Dravid taught him the importance of discipline. Several injuries, setbacks, and 8,685 domestic runs later, his father’s teachings have helped Menaria remain focused.
And life, as he sums it up, ‘chalti rahe bas (life goes on)’…
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