Amid the flurry of wickets that fell in Assam’s second innings to give Delhi a ten-wicket win in the third-round Ranji Trophy clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, Sumit Ghadigaonkar was the lone batter offering resistance. He was eventually stranded on 76 as the visitor was bowled out for 182.
The 32-year-old was Assam’s best batter in the first innings too, having passed the three-figure mark for the first time in First-Class cricket in India. He made 162 in Assam’s total of 330, notably pouncing on anything short from Delhi’s pace bowlers. But it wasn’t his maiden First-Class ton.
That’s because his first century came for Chilaw CC against Lankan CC in Colombo in Sri Lanka’s 2019-20 domestic season. Originally from Mumbai, Ghadigaonkar was playing club cricket in the city’s famous maidans and working for the Reserve Bank of India when an opportunity to try his luck as an overseas professional in Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket came up ahead of the 2019-20 season.
“I was playing good club cricket in Mumbai. One of my friends was playing in Sri Lanka. He offered me that opportunity. So, I went there and played one season. It was a very nice experience,” Ghadigaonkar said after his century here.
If not for the onset of Covid in March 2020, Ghadigaonkar may have carried on playing in the island nation. But five First-Class and three List A appearances were all he could manage there.
His entry into India’s domestic system came as late as last season when he began playing for Assam as a local player. The shift had to do with his job with RBI. “It’s been three years in Guwahati. I was transferred by RBI,” he informed.
While Ghadigaonkar did have a couple of reprieves in the second innings against Delhi, the ease with which he made his runs on the first two days of the Ranji outing suggests there’s more to come from the wicketkeeper-batter. The years he spent honing his skills in Mumbai’s cut-throat environment are perhaps proving useful. He continues to work on his batting with former India selector Jatin Paranjpe.
“Even though I wasn’t playing First-Class cricket in Mumbai, I was playing quality club cricket,” said Ghadigaonkar, who attended IPL trials for Punjab Kings last season. “I was competing with and against all the First-Class and international players in Mumbai. Suryakumar Yadav was a batch senior to me, but I played alongside Shardul (Thakur) and Siddhesh (Lad) in my formative years.”
Comments
SHARE