Nayan has eyes set on cracking the county circuit

His county debut comes after three years of hard slog on the Ranji circuit with Saurashtra and after his father prompted him to look at England. With a 14-year stint for Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire behind him, the senior Doshi was the best placed to speak. ‘‘The game has changed from his time but still Dad basically told me to just relax and bowl. He also said the counties are very approachable. I am glad I just followed his advice to the T.’’

Of all the cricket he has played in his short career, though, he believes the Saurashtra stint to be the best. ‘‘There is not a better place to learn the art of spin. Just by bowling to the Ranji batsmen you gain immensely — that’s precisely why I chose to play for Saurashtra.’’ But Nayan hasn’t exactly set the Arabian Sea on fire with his spells. His explanation: ‘‘Largely it depends on the way a player is handled. Last season I was handled better and it showed in that I was the only one who picked a five-wicket haul.’’

He’s aware that, at 25, and an England cap nowhere in the neighbourhood, time isn’t on his side. ‘‘To be honest I’m not think along those lines.’’

And if life is a struggle, he only has to ask his father for advice. ‘‘I have heard a lot about his struggle and how he got through it.’’ Indeed, Dilip looms large on his son’s horizon. ‘‘He is my hero, whatever I have learnt in cricket has been because of him. If I can achieve one-tenth of what he achieved and remain half as humble as him it would be great.’’