New Delhi: ‘If I don’t get that thing then I push myself to work more harder on it.’ An adamant Mayank Rawat opened up about his cricket journey after playing a blistering cameo with the bat (44 runs off 22 balls) in East Delhi Riders’ five-wicket win over West Delhi Lions in the match no.10 of the ongoing Delhi Premier League T20.
The 24-year-old all-rounder walked into the Arun Jaitley Stadium when his side was reduced to 68 for 4 in the ninth over in East Delhi’s pursuit of a 183-run challenging chase. The burly all-rounder took no time to settle at the crease as he heaved one past the long-on boundary without stepping out to muster his first six of the day.
Mayank would further pummel three more sixes and as many boundaries to pull down the equation for his team to 49 runs off 30 balls. He joined forces with skipper Himmat Singh, who looked rusty throughout their 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket. When the pair completed 50 runs of its alliance, Mayank’s contribution was 35 runs.
𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙠 is in 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 form in #AdaniDPLT20 💥🤩
Watch him tackle the South Delhi Superstarz bowling attack tonight on Jio Cinema & Sports 18 📺#AdaniDelhiPremierLeagueT20 #DilliKiDahaad | @JioCinema @Sports18 pic.twitter.com/ee1OsvdKhW
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 22, 2024
Mayank’s dismissal in the 16th over moderately turned the game in favour of West Delhi thanks to the brilliant leadership of Hrithik Shokeen. But an expensive 27-run-penultimate-over by experienced campaigner Navdeep Saini allowed Himmat Singh to finish the game for East Delhi in a fashionable manner and collect the Player of the Match award (POTM).
“For me, it was clear that I will hit the loose balls. If we didn’t score in that period then the pressure would have been there. I was batting with my captain Himmat Singh. My role was to hit more boundaries and play big innings. That’s what benefitted as Himmat stood till the end and finished the match in the last,” Mayank told News9 Sports in an exclusive chat after the match.
The East Delhi Riders middle order batter was named as POTM for his breezy 27-ball unbeaten 55 against Purani Dilli, where he also returned with bowling figures of 2 for 15 from two overs. He has amassed 99 runs from two innings with an impressive strike rate of 202.04 and picked up four wickets in as many games.
𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧🎩
Another important wicket by Rawat for as Priyansh Arya walks back after a fantastic knock 🔥#AdaniDelhiPremierLeagueT20 #AdaniDPLT20 #DilliKiDahaad | @JioCinema @Sports18 pic.twitter.com/shGoA4RuTO
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 22, 2024
Mayank Rawat’s wait for big opportunities
The journey of the Uttarakhand native is yet to come to fruition. Not long ago in 2022, the burly player smashed six sixes from six balls off Tilak Varma’s bowling during a Delhi Capitals selection trial in Mumbai. Despite the enormous feat, the player didn’t get a nod because one of the coaches from the Capitals camp felt he wasn’t prepared for the match. The player also auditioned for Mumbai Indians and didn’t go unnoticed by the then-skipper Rohit Sharma.
“I spoke to the coaches there (in Mumbai). One coach felt that he is not ready for that (IPL). He also went to Mumbai Indians at the same time. Rohit Sharma saw him batting there. He was impressed with him and asked him to play for his state’s senior team. We have our eyes on you,” Mayank’s childhood coach Rajesh Nagar told News9 Sports.
“He has also played for Mumbai Indians Lions squad in England. He played in their second batch in 2021-22,” he added.
An alumnus of the Bal Bhavan International School in Dwarka, a hub for budding Delhi cricketers to hone their skills, Mayank’s timing and touch caught the eye of coach Rajesh Nagar at the school’s cricket academy.
“When Mayank came to me, he was in sixth class and was an outstanding and very well disciplined. He was passionate about cricket and his father brought him to me and we got his admission at the school in 2013-14,” Rajesh recalled.
Mayank was part of the school team to play matches in Australia, for which he received a scholarship from school owner Kunal Gupta, who further waived off the budding player’s school fees as well.
When Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) set up their academy at the Bal Bhavan International School, many prominent coaches were present there. India’s 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten, who served as the head coach of Delhi Daredevils for a couple of seasons (2014-2015), was impressed with Mayank’s talent. And so was Rahul Dravid, who was Gary’s successor at the then GMR Group-owned franchise.
“Gary Kirsten asked me to take care of this kid. He said ‘he has a potential’,” Rajesh said. Adding to it,” In 2016, Rahul Dravid was the head coach of Delhi Daredevils. He saw Mayank and called him to Bengaluru. England’s U19 team toured to India. He played a couple of matches there.”
Dravid was also assumed the head coach of India U-19 team concurrently and gave Mayank a chance to play against England U-19 in an ODI series. However, the youngster failed to capture the opportunity. With abysmal scores of 0, 14 and 1, the youngster missed the bus for India’s 2018 U-19 World Cup squad in New Zealand.
When Mayank Rawat broke Virat Kohli’s record in age-group cricket
In the u-14 North Zone match between Delhi and Haryana, Mayank Rawat slammed a double-century (234 runs) which made him go past Virat Kohli’s highest score (not exactly recorded) in the age-group category. In that season, Mayank scored over 550 runs. However, an injury forced him out of action for a couple of seasons.
On his U-19 debut, he scored somewhere around 98 from 70-odd balls. In the Vinoo Mankad team, he became vice-captain. In the first match against Railways, he made more than 70 runs and lopsidedly won the match for his team. He scored more than 700 runs in that season and picked up 24 wickets. He also smashed most sixes in that season (exact numbers not known).
State Association politics or tough luck?
Mayank has captained Delhi’s U-19, U-23 and U-25 teams but is yet to find a feet in the senior state team. He was part of Delhi’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy squads for two seasons each but never managed to make cut in the playing XI.
This should only raise eyebrows at the internal politics of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). According to an Indian Express report in March this year, the DDCA has a “compromised and conflicted” selection process that bypasses the chief selector and is marked by “rampant interference” of its officials.
The DDCA’s Technical Expert Group (TEG) comprising two 1983 World Cup-winning team members Madan Lal and Sunil Valson along with former Delhi cricketer Vinay Lamba submitted a report to the state association in March 2023 regarding the selection process. According to the Indian Express report, Lamba confirmed that the issue was related to team selection.
Former Delhi captain Nitish Rana and top-order batter Dhruv Shorey’s move to Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha, respectively, rang alarming bells.
Delhi failed to reach the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy for the sixth consecutive season. A total of 27 players played in seven matches of Delhi’s group stage with 10 of them playing for just one match. Delhi lost the semi-final in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season to eventual title holders Punjab and failed to progress in the knockout stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Group C, wherein the team finished fourth on the table.
For Mayank, the grind will continue in tournaments like the Delhi Premier League and only consistency can make his case stronger. He will keep working hard as East Delhi Riders remain the only unbeaten side (won all four matches) in the six-team Delhi Premier League so far.
In this day and age, where talent, more often than not, meets opportunity, there are cricketers like Mayank Rawat, who despite getting recognised, are still waiting to get the rewards they richly deserve. In this News9 exclusive, we take a sneak peek at the heartbreaking journey of a cricketer who broke Virat Kohli’s record in age-group cricket and smashed Tilak Varma for six successive sixes in IPL trials but still waits for the big opportunity. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
