Ranji Trophy’s importance will always be paramount; I play for the thrill of it: Jayant Yadav

Jayant’s performance has also been the cornerstone for Haryana’s stirring start to the season, with the team topping the Elite Group C standings.

Jayant Yadav, who has represented India in six Test matches and two ODIs, has enjoyed a strong start to the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. | Photo Credit: Periasamy M/ The Hindu

There aren’t many things to do in Rohtak when the smog settles in. With visibility dropping under 20 metres, most outdoor activities come to a standstill.

The journey from Rohtak town to the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, makes you wonder about the per cent of guesswork involved in the driving.

The conditions ensure that the possibility of cricket is out of the question, at least for a few hours, forcing the start of the second day of the Ranji Trophy match between Haryana and Kerala to be delayed.

With nothing to do but wait for the thick blanket of smog to disintegrate, it doesn’t take much to coerce Haryana all-rounder Jayant Yadav to sit down for a chat.

The 34-year-old, who has represented India in six Test matches and two ODIs, has enjoyed a strong start to the ongoing Ranji season. The off-spinner has taken more wickets than anyone in his side, while also pitching in with some crucial lower-order runs.

Jayant’s performance has also been the cornerstone for Haryana’s stirring start to the season, with the team topping the Elite Group C standings.

Report | Kerala, Haryana agree to draw; visitor secures first-innings lead

Q - Haryana has enjoyed a superb start to the season. What do you make of your team and its performance so far?

A - I think the best part about our team is that we have always played ‘one for all and all for one’. As an observer of cricket, you would have seen the energy in the field and how everybody is behind everybody. There’s no hierarchy in our team. Anybody can give a suggestion to anybody at any point in time. I think credit goes to all the boys and the management for trying to inculcate that culture and everybody buying into it. And I think the results are there to be seen. Last year, we won the Vijay Hazare. We did very well in the Ranji Trophy as well. We want to work on these performances and try and qualify for the knockouts first. And then, of course, try to win the trophy.

In the previous round, against Punjab, your team flipped the batting order, bringing Harshal Patel up the order. It turned out to be a masterstroke as he scored a fifty and your team went on to win by 30-odd runs. How was that call made?

The call from the management was pretty gutsy. Because sometimes in cricket, you have to take some calls and just let the person go. Harshal always has that knack of scoring those kinds of runs. So, the idea behind that was to give Harshal the freedom to play his style of cricket. And because it was a 150-200 game, we just wanted to make sure that if Harshal can contribute, then our batsmen will be able to bat long.

You made your First-Class debut 13 years ago and have been a regular in the domestic circuit. How do you look at the Ranji Trophy and its importance to Indian cricket?

I think it’s the building ground for everything. I would strongly advocate everybody to play First-Class. The reason why it’s called Test cricket is that if you have a bad day on the first day, you still have to show up to the ground and perform even with the baggage of not being able to contribute to the team. That’s the beauty of it, that’s what builds players. And of course, you can translate those skills to white-ball cricket as well. I believe the grind of the Ranji Trophy is something that will make players who they are and its importance will always be paramount.

It would be impossible to not ask you about the Test hundred you scored against England in Mumbai in 2016. What are your memories of that knock?

I think we were trailing when I went into bat. They had scored 400 or odd, and we were still training by 40 or 50, runs. I’d played two or three Tests before, so the nerves weren’t exactly there. My only intention was to just stick with Virat [Kohli]. When I went to bat at Tea, I think they attacked me and I was able to get to about 15, 20 runs. That helped me settle down. And the next morning, I was so obsessed that I hadn’t taken a wicket in the first innings. I was still thinking of my bowling. But that, in a way, took pressure off my batting, and I could bat more freely. At the end of the day, that was a great memory.

Would you consider that the proudest moment of your career?

No. I think the proudest moment would have been the first call-up. Everybody wants to play Tests for the country, and I’m grateful for whatever little I have played. I didn’t play the Test after I got my first call-up. I think it was Indore, India vs New Zealand. We just came back from the Australia tour, and I and Shardul [Thakur] were in the team.

Now a little bit about your bowling. You have a pretty long run-up, almost as long as a medium pacer. How did that come to be?

I always had a very big run-up and it just came naturally to me. But of late, I have had to tweak the intensity sometimes. So, a lot of people try to generate momentum in the crease, but I try and generate momentum in the run-up so that to add a little extra revs, a little extra dip, if I’m able to get some.

“My only intention was to just stick with Virat Kohli,” Jayant Yadav, who scored his maiden hundred against England, said while remembering his knock. | Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR/ The Hindu

Against Kerala, you often bowled across the umpire, particularly against the left-handed batters. Is that an effort to do something out of the box and confuse the batters?

At the end of the day, you have to try and find different ways to make the batsman think about what’s coming next. That’s how I see cricket. The reason why I try bowling across is just to try and change the angle. And both the [Kerala] lefties were leaving me well, just from the third or fourth stump, despite the little turn I was able to get. They were playing really well. So, I just thought that maybe a different angle would sort of help me create some doubt. Sometimes you think of something, and you don’t know what will work.

You have enjoyed a First-Class career of over 13 years. You have travelled across the country playing domestic cricket. What would you say has been your biggest learning from all these experiences?

I’ll speak purely as a spinner. So, for example, this season, we have encountered a red soil wicket in Madhya Pradesh and a black soil wicket in our home games. So the most important thing as a domestic player is how quickly you have to adapt to different conditions and external factors. In a multi-day game, there’s always that opportunity. You just have to wait for that one opportunity when you go all-out attack. So I think adjusting to different conditions, adjusting to different opponents, that’s the challenge as a Ranji player. And I think if you put all of that together, one word would be application. That’s what, at least I play for; the thrill that’s still there. And it’s lovely to see everybody just coming along and just trying to do that.

Do you feel the Ranji Trophy’s significance has taken a hit due to the rising importance afforded to IPL?

It doesn’t have to be binary. It’s not that if IPL is given importance, Ranji shouldn’t be. I think it is more of how a player sees it, rather than the outside. When I say the outside, I mean the media and others. Because at the end of the day, everybody has to have an opinion. But it all boils down to how the players see it. It definitely can be both, if we keep both on the same pedestal. Of course, the scale is much different, but I think it’s not binary.

The IPL Auction is just a few days away and it is a life-changing moment for many players. How is your team looking at it, while also ensuring it doesn’t affect your performance in the ongoing matches?

Right now, because of this fog, we can’t do anything. So, in our dressing room, we’re just having fun, sharing anecdotes and stories, pulling somebody’s leg. Honestly, till you bought it up, I didn’t even remember about the auction. I mean, when you’re on the ground, you wouldn’t say you’re thinking about the auction. But of course, subconsciously, somewhere in the back of your mind, you have a thought that, okay, 24, 25 is the auction.

Do you feel having that thought in mind could affect the players?

I always think that everything in sports boils down to personality. I think we cannot generically say as a player that everybody would be thinking about the auction. There might be a lot of people who might be thinking about it. There might be a lot of people who wouldn’t be thinking about it. So, I don’t think we can generalise it. But yes, to answer the question, at the back of your mind, it is always there [for a player].