Ranji Trophy: Hyderabad’s left-handed ‘Pujara’, Rahul Radesh, bides his time and churns runs in maiden FC hundred

Hyderabad’s Rahul Radesh scored a patient 100 off 268 balls to take his side to a strong total in the Ranji Trophy game.

Hyderabad’s Rahul Radesh reacts after scoring his century on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Cricket Match against Rajasthan. | Photo Credit: R V Moorthy/The Hindu

Life often changes overnight. But it also takes years to get to that night.

When Rahul Radesh was batting on 43 at the draw of stumps on the first day of Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy clash against Rajasthan, he wouldn’t have known what fate had in store for him the next morning. But he would have backed himself, the way he has done ever since he started playing hard-ball cricket as an eight-year-old.

When he retired to his bed on Wednesday night, for once that dispiriting moment would have certainly flashed through his mind – when he was dismissed on 94 (226 balls) against Uttarakhand, two games ago, after nicking an ordinary delivery to the glovesman. So close yet so far, as they say.

Radesh may only be 21 years and five First Class (FC) matches old, but the head on those young shoulders is way older. “It’s cricket. It happens,” as he would later nonchalantly tell Sportstar, minutes after scoring his maiden FC hundred.

On day two of the Elite Group B match, Radesh seemed unbothered by the movement Deepak Chahar was getting off the seam early in the morning. When Rajasthan thought of introducing Kookna Ajay Singh, who eventually picked a fifer, he hit three boundaries off the left-arm spinner. Not a great number until you realise Radesh’s overall strike-rate was 37.31. It was almost like sending a message to Deepak Hooda, the opposition skipper, that he was not afraid of taking on his best bowler, on the day, if he wanted to.

READ |  Radesh’s maiden ton keeps Hyderabad in control vs Rajasthan on Day 2

By Lunch, everyone had seemingly given up, with a frustrated Aniket Choudhary chirping from the boundary: “ Arey kya pila ke bheja re isko?” (What did they make him drink before sending him in?).

Hooda eventually had to bring himself on to finally end the youngster’s stay on the green expanse of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. By then, he had survived 420 minutes and 267 balls to get to his 100.

“The team required me to stay there. The batters around me play a bit quicker so, I didn’t have the pressure of scoring runs. My role in the team is defined. It is to bat and take the team through,” he said.

One would think he belongs to the Cheteshwar Pujara school of batsmanship, the Test specialist, who displayed the utmost resilience and patience in the most adverse conditions throughout his career. After all, Radesh’s hundred had come off 262 balls, which he had faced across four sessions. Even his teammates teased him by referring to him using the last name of the India international.

But ask him and he would say: “I have been heavily inspired by Kumar Sangakkara. He was a left-handed ‘keeper-batter as well. But among right-handed batters, obviously (Virat) Kohli. I like his aggression and that hunger to score runs day in and day out. That’s what even I try to follow.”

However, the only visible sign of aggression in the entirety of his innings came after he scored his century when he jumped for joy, clenched his fists and let out the loudest of roars.

He dedicated the feat to his family – comprising his parents and brother – who have been pillars of support throughout his journey. “My family is into cricket. All of them are fans of the game. No one played the sport professionally, but you know they’re very avid watchers. That may have been the actual reason for me picking up a bat for the first time when I was four-years-old. And they have always been incredibly supportive.”

Radesh didn’t always have it easy in the City of Pearls.

He was a broken lad after he failed to get going in the 2021-22 Vinoo Mankad Trophy, scoring only a run against Goa Under-19 and a two against Rajasthan U-19. “It happens from time to time (an emotional breakdown). When you don’t score, it’s never a good feeling. But you’ve got to pick yourself up and grind through it. If you have a good support system, you definitely can get through. If you are a good player, you know it’s just a matter of time. You feel like you’re bound to get back up even if you don’t score runs in a few matches. It’s part and parcel of the game. I just tried to make sure that I put in the hard work in the nets,” Radesh, who trains under former India fielding coach R. Sridhar and former Hyderabad wicketkeeper Kolla Sumanth, said.

Although he was called up by the Mumbai Indians last year for Indian Premier League trials, he is yet to be summoned by a side ahead of the upcoming season. When asked which side he would like to play for, Radesh said, “Sunrisers (Hyderabad), hopefully, but I’m keeping myself open. I think there is a window after the next match, so hopefully, someone will call me up. Very keen for that also.”

Radesh wants to live the India dream, like countless others among the 143 crore people in this country. But he doesn’t want to think about it for now. He said, “There are many steps I need to cover before that happens – Duleep Trophy, India A and the likes.”

When the southpaw’s profile in the whites of Hyderabad makes a debut on Sports pages in newspapers on Friday morning and news websites, maybe he would sit back to think a small step has indeed been taken towards realising the ultimate goal of donning the blues of India.