While senior India batsman Virat Kohli has achieved greatness in international cricket, another young Virat, Virat Singh, has suffered plenty of setbacks in his journey so far.
Hailing from Jharkhand, Virat Singh was once the captain of the Inder-19 team but missed out on selection in India’s under-19 squad for the 2016 under-19 World Cup.
With no surprises, the Jamshedpur lad idolizes MS Dhoni, his former Jharkhand captain. During the 2016-17 season, Virat Singh played under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Jharkhand progressed to the semifinals, but Virat didn’t have a good tournament, managing only 50 runs in six innings. He did though learned plenty of from arguably the greatest white-ball international captain.
“I was lucky enough to share the dressing room with Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Pehle toh fanboy moment hota hai (At the start I had fan-boy moments). After clicking selfies and taking an autograph, I got to know the person. Very soon, I realised why he is so special. You watch him going about his business and grasp things in a calm and composed demeanour. How to take the game deep and win matches for your side,” Virat Singh told The Indian Express.
Dhoni’s words of wisdom to young Virat were: “Failures on the cricket ground shouldn’t dictate your life. There is much to life than cricket. It is a game, one day; you will score a century and the next day, you might get out without scoring.”
“My inspiration is MS Dhoni; he has endured a lot of rejections during his early cricketing days. But he led the country for about ten years and helped India win the three ICC trophies. His journey tells us that it doesn’t really matter where you come from; if you are willing to work hard, if you are honest with yourself, nothing can stop you from achieving your goal,” he added
The left-handed batsman started to make progress soon and became a regular of the Jharkhand team. Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for Rs 1.9 crores for the 2020 season. He didn’t get a chance to bat in that season. In IPL 2021, he got three matches but managed only 15 runs and spend the rest of the season on the bench.
“We played our initial matches in Chennai, where everyone was struggling. But there is no excuse; I failed to grab my chances. Then in the second phase in the UAE, I warmed the bench,” he explains.
Without any impactful performance last season, consequently, he didn’t find any buyers at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. However, Virat quickly moved on from it and vowed to work harder.
“For a cricketer like me, the IPL contract means a lot. I used my IPL 2021 money for my stint in Durham, where I have played so many league games for Seaham Park. I am disappointed, but I will work harder and improve my game.
“I am working hard. I have been spending lots of time in the nets, working on my fielding. I’m doing everything I can to be the best version of myself,” he added.
The hard work paid off in his latest Ranji Trophy game against Delhi when the 24-year-old was asked to captain the side in the absence of Saurabh Tiwary, who was down with diarrhea. Virat scored a brilliant 103 runs in the first innings, helping his side to 251. In the end, it was a slender 15-run difference that helped Jharkhand prevail and remain alive in the race to the knockouts.
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