Dubai: Kedar Jadhav, hero of India’s epic chase through his knock of 120 off 76 balls against England in the first One Day International in Pune, is another example of the depth of cricketing talent from small towns of India.
Jadhav first came to the limelight through Indian Premier League (IPL), which has served as the stage to many small town cricketers like him.
In his debut IPL match for Delhi Daredevils in 2010, Jadhav hit a half-century off just 29 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Speaking to Gulf News, former India Test star and renowned coach T.A. Sekar, who is the director of Delhi Daredevils, said: “Jadhav is a terrific player. Very few Indian batters can bat at No. 6. I feel Kedar is in the top of this list.”
Despite six fifties and one century in his 2008-09 first class season for Maharashtra, Jadhav — also a handy off spinner — was not talked about as worthy to be in the Indian team. A fighter to the core, the all-rounder never gave up and worked harder.
In 2013-14, he finished as the highest run getter in the Ranji Trophy with 1,223 runs which included six centuries.
Though he was 28 years old by then, he never gave up hope.
Jadhav became the architects of Daredevils’ many victories in the 2014 IPL, though his team failed to win the title.
His consistency won him a place in the Team India for the 2014 one-day series against Bangladesh.
Though Jadhav did not get to play in the series, he got his chance to make his one-day debut against Sri Lanka the same year.
He scored his first ODI century in Zimbabwe when he cracked an unbeaten 105 batting at No. 6.
The years of wait finally paid dividends as Jadhav reserved his special moment for Sunday in the match played in front of his home crowd, his parents, wife and daughter.
With the home crowd chanting his name in unison and in the company of captain Virat Kohli, the tongue-tied Jadhav was at a loss for words while receiving the Man of the Match trophy. “It’s a great feeling to win a game for my country in front of my home crowd,” he managed to say.
Much like his idol Virender Sehwag, Jadhav is a fearless player. He once remarked that his natural game is to attack the bowlers and that is the way he has played since childhood. “I will not change my style at the international level and play the same way,” he said.
An important cue he has taken from Sehwag is to target a boundary or a six, but if that’s not possible, then look for a single. This approach resulted in 12 boundaries and four sixes, which forced Kohli admit that he couldn’t believe some of the shots that Jadhav played on the magical Sunday night.
