da bet vitoria： The most prolific wicketkeeper-batter on the domestic circuit recently, he now has a chance to leave his mark as captain
da betano casino： Hemant Brar09-Mar-2024″So you are telling me you want to step out to fast bowlers?” Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit asked Akshay Wadkar with a puzzled expression.This was 2017, and Wadkar’s career was in the middle of nowhere. He was overage for the Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy. For the Ranji Trophy, Jitesh Sharma and Siddhesh Wath were the selectors’ top two choices for the wicketkeeper’s role, so he could not find a place in that squad either.Like most kids in India, Wadkar’s cricketing journey had started at a ground next to his home. Unlike most kids in India, especially in the 2000s, he had full support from his parents to pursue cricket as a career.Related
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“My dad always gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted to,” Wadkar, 29, tells ESPNcricinfo. “He would say, ‘studies or cricket, the choice is yours’. He knew it was not easy to do well in both simultaneously, and if I focused on one thing, the results would be better. So he never forced me to study. Even in class ten, I went to school for only about three months. The rest of the time I was playing cricket.”The parents’ support and Wadkar’s hard work meant he made his List A debut in 2013, at the age of 18. However, by 2017, it had been more than two years since he had last played for Vidarbha.But Wadkar’s hopes were suddenly renewed. Just before the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, the Vidarbha Cricket Association decided to change the format of the Guzder League A Division, their local tournament. Until then, it was a 50-over tournament. Now the association decided to make it a two-day format, and run it parallel to the Ranji Trophy.The idea was to have more options if the selectors wanted to make changes during the Ranji season. Wadkar grabbed this opportunity with both hands, and scored two hundreds and three fifties in the league. With Jitesh and Wath not living up to the expectations in the first three Ranji games, the selectors turned to Wadkar.Akshay Wadkar hit a century in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy final, which Vidarbha won•PTI “I was in the middle of a match, waiting to go out at two down, when I learned that I was selected for the Ranji Trophy,” Wadkar recalls.He did not play straightaway and had to wait for one more game. When he finally made his first-class debut, he did not get a chance to bat, as Vidarbha crushed Goa by an innings. His first outing with the bat was against Himachal Pradesh, where he was lbw to Rishi Dhawan for 15 in the only innings.”After the match, Wasim Jaffer told me I was late on the ball, that’s why I got lbw. I didn’t have a trigger movement then. He said if I had an initial movement, I would react to the ball better.”I thought if he had suggested something, it must be useful. There was a gap of around eight days before the next game, the quarter-final against Kerala. During that time, I tried to make some minor changes to my technique. But I was so confused that not only could I not incorporate anything new, but almost forgot my original technique too.”The quarter-final against Kerala started after tea because of rain, and Vidarbha lost three wickets before stumps. Wadkar was still in a state of confusion, so he decided to speak to Pandit that night.Faiz Fazal and Chandrakant Pandit, the men at Vidarbha who had an influence on Akshay Wadkar•ESPNcricinfo LtdEventually, Pandit agreed.The next day, Vidarbha were in even more trouble, 87 for 5 when Wadkar walked in. It soon became 95 for 6, but batting in his own style, Wadkar scored a crucial 53 to help them post 246.Vidarbha not only took a first-innings lead but also went on to win the game, with Wadkar scoring another fifty in the second innings. In the final against Delhi, Wadkar top-scored with 133 as Vidarbha won their maiden Ranji Trophy title.So far Wadkar has scored eight first-class hundreds. But even today, he rates that 53 as his best innings. “That was the turning point of my career,” he says. “It was a challenging knock, both technically and mentally, and really boosted my confidence.”Wadkar’s career graph has gone in only one direction from there. Since his debut, he has been the most prolific wicketkeeper-batter in the Indian domestic circuit. In 50 first-class games, he has 3036 runs at an average of 49.77. No wicketkeeper has more hundreds in this period.Still, he never got an India A call-up.What more does he need to do?Wadkar asked the same question to MS Dhoni when he met him in Ranchi earlier this year.
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