Ayush Doseja, the 23-year-old who became the first-ever Delhi batter to make a double hundred on first-class debut in the side’s Ranji Trophy opener against Hyderabad last week, is a Virat Kohli super fan. His recent obsession with training and fitness to refining his technique, is an attempt to emulate his idol, he says.
His teammate with whom he scripted a 309-run stand against Hyderabad, Sanat Sangwan, a couple of years older, does not need to say who he holds as his idol. It is there in his style, from the neatly-groomed conical beard to the studs in his ears. It’s there in his confident stride and the self-belief in his demeanour and manner of speaking. It was there in his stylish unbeaten knock of 211 when he opened the innings for Delhi last week, bringing up his first double hundred in his eighth first-class outing.
Both young men are part of the nucleus of Delhi’s new batting order. They aspire to don the Test whites for India, but also long to wear the multi-coloured ensemble of an IPL franchise. They have been brought up straddling three formats, developing strokeplay and temperament that holds well for short-burst impacts as well as long-haul stands. And they have, of course, grown up worshipping this city’s favourite sporting icon.
More than seven years and as many seasons have passed since Delhi even reached the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy. Rishabh Pant had been the captain back then when they had lost to Vidarbha in the final in 2018, and current India men’s team national coach Gautam Gambhir had opened the batting. Infighting and allegations of corruption within the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) have been raised as reasons for the underperformance. But new talent breeds new hope, and there is plenty of it within Delhi’s batting.
Doseja and Sangwan are captained by Ayush Badoni. The 24-year-old No.4 for Delhi will lead his side against Himachal Pradesh in their upcoming home fixture, starting Saturday, before immediately departing for Bengaluru, where he will join up with the India A squad that plays South Africa, a clear signal of the hefty promise he holds. His deputy and the team’s No.3 is a resurgent Yash Dhull, the 22-year-old who captained India to the U19 World Cup title in 2022, and is finding form after sitting out for a long period due to surgery for a hole in his heart. Priyansh Arya, the 24-year-old who lit up this year’s IPL as opener for finalists Punjab Kings, has earned a call-up to the squad but is yet to make his first-class debut.
They have grown up playing together and are trying to form something resembling a solid unit for a team that has been mired by instability for much of the last decade.
“The chemistry is great, we have been playing cricket together since age-group levels so it’s fun in the dressing room and obviously, that makes it easy in building partnerships,” opener Sangwan told The Indian Express on the sidelines of a training session at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds. “It’s just the start now.”
It is tough to tell whether Delhi’s new crop of batters will deliver the goods at such a young age, but it is even tougher to assess whether their collective emergence is due to a structured plan or mere coincidence. One running thread, though, is the domestic T20 franchise league.
The Delhi Premier League’s (DPL) influence on the IPL was already there to see this season, from the likes of leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi to wicketkeeper-batter Vansh Bedi to Arya himself. But its footprints are there on Delhi’s Ranji side too. Five of the top 12 run-getters of this season’s DPL are in Delhi’s squad, and so are three of the five centurions from the campaign.
And while formats might be totally different, exposure and professionalism have done the players plenty of good. “There are crowds, these are proper live matches. And there are IPL scouts in attendance. We don’t get chances like that year-round, so all of us just know that is where we have to do our best,” Doseja told The Indian Express.
While there is more glamour and far easier access in T20s, both Doseja and Sangwan, insist their goal is to be an all-format player for India; and excelling in the longest format is the key to that. That means constant adaptation, not just to mindset but also to playing style. The challenge is to go from practicing range hitting to batting against bowlers from 16 yards to prepare for pace and bounce. To change from prioritising power to endurance.
For both, though, the standard has been set. “I know what I have to do when I saw Virat bhaiya when I played with him in the Railways game (Kohli’s first Ranji game in 12 years, this January),” Sangwan says. The 25-year-old did not just share a dressing room but also shared the crease with Kohli for about two overs.
“When I saw his intensity, it was obvious that is what it takes. The pre-match routines, the amount of time in the gym, the professionalism. I’m not there yet but that is the work ethic I need. Now I know,” he added.
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