Pradeekumar Yadav

Proud parents bask in their sons’ glory By Pradeepkumar Yadav PRIDE in own’s child is one thing on which parenthood thrives. It shoots like a rocket when the children become toast of a society. It is an out of the world feeling for the dads and moms when their kid is hailed as a hero. This Vidarbha team that wrote a Red Letter Day for the region by winning the Ranji Trophy title has many heroes who have earned their fame. Their parents are now on Cloud Nine, eager to welcome their sons and hear their amazing story of triumph. ‘The Hitavada’ spoke to a few about the feeling when Team Vidarbha lifted their biggest cricketing title at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Aditya has his own world: Anushree Sarvate ADITYA Sarvate was one of the key members for Vidarbha on third day of the Ranji final. Along with Akshay Wadkar he formed a duo that held on for the first innings lead. It was their partnership that gave Vidarbha a boost to kiss the trophy. “Aditya is very shy. He d...

Atharva Taide: Captain Cool By Pradeepkumar Yadav HE IS cool and calm, never getting irritated even by silliest of things. But that is just one side of this talented youngster. At times, he lets his hair down, acts funny and cracks jokes to bring the house down. But when he is on the field, the joke is always on the opposition! Meet Vidarbha Under-19 captain Atharva Taide, who scored career best 320 runs in the final of Cooch Behar Trophy. The Akola boy became the first U-19 skipper to lift the trophy for Vidarbha, on Wednesday. Atharva is now the second player who has scored a triple ton in the final of the U-19 after Yuvraj Singh. The captain led from the front playing seven matches and scoring 669 runs including one hundred, one fifty and a triple ton. “For me the best innings is the century against Punjab because my team was in need. We planned according to that. We won the toss and made it clear that we will put big score on the board. So it was my big responsibility t...

Akshay Wadkar: Keeper of faith By Pradeepkumar Yadav THE game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can’t let yourself be beat because of lack of effort. —Michael Jordan. The story of Akshay Wadkar, son of Vinod a head clerk in Morris College, is yet another example of a rags-to-riches tale. He never had the means and finances to take up a career in cricket. But solid support from his father and a helpful coach ensured that the talented wicketkeeper-batsman does not miss out on his dream. “My family was unable to pay my club fees. For several months I did not go to the club. But it was Madhav Bakre sir, founder and manager of Nagpur Cricket Academy (NCA) who helped me during that crisis. He did not charge any fees and if I was in need of any cricket material, he was the first person to help me,” Wadkar told ‘The Hitavada’ as he waited eagerly for the Ranji Trophy final to start in Indore from Friday. Bakre, too, was...

I had thought of quitting cricket at 16: Sanjay By Pradeepkumar Yadav HIS lean frame deceives many. For, they are not aware of the steely mind that resides in Sanjay Ramaswamy’s body. The 23-year-old has pursued his passion of playing cricket enduring tough times and even negative thoughts. Though the Vidarbha opener has just started his career in domestic cricket, the merit he has shown is the talking point this season. Come to think of it that the same boy had actually thought of quitting cricket altogether seven years ago. “I was 16 years old then and was among the highest run-getters in Under-19 club level matches that year. Despite the runs I could not make it to the camp. It demoralised me so much that I was on the brink of quitting cricket altogether,” Sanjay told ‘The Hitavada’ as he geared up for the Ranji Trophy final against Delhi from December 29. Sanjay was convinced to come back to the cricket field by his childhood coach Prashant Bambal who took u...