With his pencil-thin physique, barely-sprouting moustache and an oversized floppy hat, Hardik Raj may look slightly out of place on a Ranji trophy cricket field.
Barely 17 years of age, the all-rounder was called up by Karnataka ahead of its encounter against Tripura after his stupendous performances in age group tournaments this season.
In the recently concluded Cooch Behar U-19 tournament, the left-arm spinner scalped 28 wickets in eight matches at an average of 20.42. He aggregated 299 runs with the bat as well, at an average of 49.83.
Hardik saved his best for the most crucial encounters, scoring a hundred against Tamil Nadu in the semifinal and picking up a four-fer and a fifty against Mumbai in the final to help Karnataka to the title.
“The main striking feature is his attitude. I first saw him in a practice game against Mumbai in Bengaluru last year,” said PV Shashikanth, Head Coach of the Karnataka team.
“He was ready to take up the responsibility. He was ready to take the bowlers head-on. He was ready to bowl to the best of the best batsmen. That was the first impression he created,” the coach added.
Two games into his First Class career, Hardik, who represents the Gulbarga Mystics in the Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament, has demonstrated his immense potential which forced the management to fast-track him into the main team.
“We sent him out against Tripura to blunt the attack, when they were bowling outswingers to the right-handers. He negotiated that. At this age, that speaks volumes. Other youngsters would have been overawed by that,” said Shashikanth about his performance on debut.
“Playing alongside Mayank [Agarwal], Manish Pandey, [Ravikumar] Samarth and Devdutt [Padikkal], he can add to his knowledge bank and widen his horizon,” he added.
In the following match against the Railways, Hardik followed the team’s plan to perfection, attacking the stumps with a leg slip and short-leg in place, picking up three wickets in the first innings.
“We had a game plan in place. We asked him to keep it tight and I think invariably he delivered. In the second innings also he bowled better compared to what the fourth [wickets] column suggests,” Shashikanth said.
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Starting as a batter in his early years, Hardik who adores Ravindra Jadeja, decided to turn to spin after opportunities at the U-10 and U-12 levels began to diminish.
Now, he has developed into a bowling all-rounder capable of playing a handy knock with the bat. “I am working on my batting for the last two years. I feel going ahead I have to work on my batting more,” he said, signalling his intentions to be a genuine middle-order batter.
Describing his feeling on stepping up to the big league, Hardik said: “Obviously on day one, I had butterflies. I had to be more consistent with my lines and be patient.”
In an age where the importance of 50-over cricket is dwindling, the 17-year-old suggests he is best suited to that format. “I think T20s are too fast and four-day games are too long. 50-over games are good to settle as a bowler and [I] get enough overs to bowl,” he said.
Coach Shashikanth reckons Hardik must continue to play junior cricket whenever the opportunity arises. “I don’t think there is any harm in more matches. More matches means more wickets and more runs under his belt, which will do a world of good for his confidence,” he said.
“He’s got some more years of U-19 and I won’t be surprised if he makes the Indian U-19 team,” he added.
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