The diminutive Nitya Pandya doesn’t look intimidating by any means. Even on this India Below-19 aspect, he can simply slip below the radar in entrance of different tall boys. However with the bat in hand, Pandya is difficult to overlook. Now and again, he’ll cost on the bowlers. Different instances, he shall be engaged in a confrontation with the slip cordon. In the event that they don’t reply, he can have a phrase with any fielder positioned close to him. The communication line with the bowler is at all times open.
On Monday, batting on 94 in India’s second Youth Check towards Australia, there was a short second when Pandya went quiet. Australia’s fielders received into the act, with the fielder at deep square-leg even shouting, “go for it Pandya!” as left-arm seamer Harry Hoekstra hurled a number of quick stuff. And off the following ball, Pandya would fall to the entice with Lachlan Ranaldo taking the catch at deep square-leg.
“When he’s speaking, it often means he’s dictating the sport,” Digvijay Rathva, who has been teaching Pandya since he was 13, tells The Indian Specific. “He often doesn’t take stress, however final match he was completely nervous. And in the present day, he informed me that he performed a ball that was over his shoulder and was by no means in management. It means, he was feeling the stress of reaching a century,” Rathva provides.
Very early, other than his apparent liking to bat for lengthy intervals, Rathva says he was impressed extra about how Pandya made Virat Kohli his idol and commenced to comply with him to the T.
“All this speaking and sledging, he picked it by watching Kohli. When he takes the sphere, he needs to be like Kohli… sun shades, collars up, fielding and even celebrating a wicket, you will note him imitate Kohli wherever doable. If Kohli does one thing, Pandya would do the identical on the sphere subsequent day. If he isn’t doing something it solely means, his thoughts is elsewhere or he’s feeling a little bit of stress,” Rathva says.
Final 12 months Raj Lambani, who was a part of India’s U-19 World Cup staff in 2024 and a detailed pal of Pandya, got here to play a membership match. “Pandya loves to speak and no person can maintain him again,” Rathva remembers, “Raj had the brand new ball on a inexperienced prime and Pandya went, ‘Don’t attempt to present me that you’re India U-19 participant. I’m going to smash you now’ and ended up hitting two fours within the first over”.
Since Pandya is already 18, he gained’t be eligible to make the Below-19 World Cup minimize and this Check may effectively be his final within the age-group class. However ready patiently for a chance and simply getting one or two video games isn’t new for Pandya. Born in Banswara district in Rajasthan, Pandya moved along with his mom and sister to Vadodara solely to pursue cricket.
“I’d no option to ship them to Vadodara as a result of I couldn’t see Nitya struggling right here in our village Anjana,” Pandya’s father Jitendra says. “He used to complete faculty and journey 50km by bus from our village Anjana to Banswara for teaching. He would take the 2PM bus and return solely by 10PM. It was the time when Hardik and Krunal Pandya had turn into a part of the IPL. So we thought, why not Vadodara?” he remembers.
At Vadodara, Pandya enrolled at Motibaug Cricket Academy with Rathva taking him below the wings. And since he had moved between states, the prevailing rule in Baroda Cricket Affiliation meant that Pandya ended up dropping three years. “Right here, we needed to overcome the pink card concern. So all that he performed was membership cricket; regardless of being essentially the most gifted he couldn’t make the state staff. However as soon as he received the inexperienced card, he walked into the Below-16 staff the place he performed for 2 years after which is now a part of the U-19 staff for 2 years. The Below-19 World Cup was the dream, but it surely isn’t the top,” Rathva says.
Having made a powerful 51 in India’s second innings of the primary Youth Check, Rathva had given Pandya a goal – to face a minimal of 100 deliveries. Batting at No 3, he managed to face 135 and scored 94, together with 12 boundaries. “I set him a practical aim due to the rains right here, he hasn’t had any apply open air. He has principally been batting indoors and for a child, it isn’t a simple adjustment to make from astro-turf to pure pitch. He didn’t play any red-ball video games, so I didn’t need to be harsh with him,” Rathva says. 100 was missed however correct good impression was made.
Transient scores: India U-19 316/5 (Nitya Pandya 94, KP Karthikeya 71, Nikhil Kumar 61, Soham Patwardhan 61 n.o) vs Australia U-19.