"There's no such thing as the big stage" - Confident and composed Ajitesh living in the moment despite TNPL heroics
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
Act One, Scene One. July 2022.
G Ajitesh is playing for the Nellai Royal Kings in his maiden Tamil Nadu Premier League season. He is 19 years old, with no cricket in the upper echelons of the sport behind him. He hasn't even played in Chennai's first-division league, having only recently moved to Coimbatore from Bangalore.
The second you see one slicing swing of the blade that deposits the ball well over the boundary, you know that Ajitesh belongs at this level. The 13 other maximums he hits during TNPL 2022, in only 53 total balls faced, add to the notion. They are even enough to earn him an immediate call-up to Tamil Nadu's side for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Act One, Scene Two. October 2022.
Ajitesh hammers three sixes in eight balls on his Tamil Nadu debut, with his 23-run knock on a hellish wicket in Lucknow being his team's second-highest individual score. The innings goes in vain, though, and the rest of his SMAT campaign doesn't yield much end product.
Act One, Scene Three. June 2023.
Ajitesh returns to the competition it all began in, the TNPL. He also returns to the place he learned to call home, the SNR College Ground in Coimbatore. Although he's up against the home side, the Lyca Kovai Kings, he's no pantomime villain. The packed crowd cheer on his every move, watching the future of their state side take guard.
Ajitesh officially has his watershed moment, smashing eight deliveries out of the ground en route to 112 off just 60 balls. He puts on a performance for the ages, one that has quickly been dubbed as the best knock in the TNPL's seven-year history. Despite an unfortunate run-out, he finishes on the right side of the last-ball thriller.
All sports fans are hapless slaves of common clichés, and we can't help but claim that on that night, the 20-year-old arrived on the big stage. He, however, politely denounces the cliché in a few simple words while speaking to Sportskeeda in a light-hearted but equally profound chat.
“I just try to enjoy the game and not take a lot of pressure. As you take pressure, you start to get hard on yourself and start to think too much. Eventually, it won’t be good for you. It’s very important to have fun and play according to the situation. There’s no such thing as the big stage, and it’s just how you execute your role at that point in time. That’s how I look at it. Have a good bunch of boys playing around you and enjoy the game,” Ajitesh says.
At the same time, Ajitesh has bigger fish to fry, like any other budding cricketer. It wasn't to be at the IPL 2023 auction, but a raised paddle or two in 2024 will be anything but a surprise. Apart from the IPL, of course, the youngster has his eyes set on the ultimate dream - playing international cricket for the Men in Blue.
“There’s no pressure as such. It’s the IPL, and I’d love to play for any team. My goal is to play for India, there is no doubt about that. But I want to take things slowly, first do well in the TNPL and then take what comes my way without looking too far ahead. Getting these small things right and ticking the small boxes is my process," a calm Ajitesh remarks.
From Bangalore to Coimbatore: Ajitesh's journey to TNPL stardom
An alumnus of the famous Karnataka Institute of Cricket, Ajitesh rapidly rose through the ranks at the age-group levels. It became very evident very early that cricket was clearly both his vocation and his avocation, and his parents knew there was only one way forward after seeing the joy that bat and ball brought him.
“I started playing cricket at a very young age, probably when I was five, six years old. I was really into cricket right from the start, I was addicted to the game and used to have only a bat and a ball in my hands when I was young. So that’s how it started. I started playing in Bangalore when I was young - I went to an academy. My parents didn’t need any convincing at all; they were supportive throughout. In fact, they were more excited and happy that I was into the sport. My dad was really into cricket as well, so he supported me a lot to take up the sport as a profession,” Ajitesh recalls while talking to Sportskeeda.
At one point, though, Ajitesh suffered an unexpected setback that shaped his formative years. He was dropped from the U16 state side and immediately came to the realization that the enormity of the task at hand would need him to be completely devoted to the sport. The youngster then left no stone unturned, and the fruits of his labor are ripe for picking.
“All of us go through a lot of struggles at some point of time. This started for me when I was not picked in the U16 state side, and I realized that I had to work harder to meet my goals. I realized that I had to get much better than I was, and that’s the reason I’m here now. I want to work even harder and get there to my long-term goal, which is to play for India,” Ajitesh admits.
In order to progress in his career, Ajitesh needed a change of scenery. His base location became Coimbatore from Bangalore, and the move has turned out to be a career-defining one. The 20-year-old looks back fondly on his days living near Commercial Street, but knows that he couldn't have done it without the coaches and players in his adopted hometown.
“I just took a call. Sunil Sam sir is the one who got me from Bangalore to Coimbatore and I met Guru [AG Guruswamy] sir here. I was practicing at KIOC for almost 10 years from the start of my career. I also practiced at the City Institute of Cricket (CIOC). There, I worked under Joy sir, who has helped me a lot from a very young age."
"The transition was tough but it has really helped me grow as a cricketer. Guru sir has had a really big contribution to my game. I’ve been practicing for almost two years now with him, everything he says makes a lot of sense. He gives me tailored inputs according to my game,” Ajitesh gushes.
G Ajitesh: The process-oriented power-hitting prodigy
Ajitesh has all the makings of an all-time T20 batter. His power game is unnaturally developed for a player his age, with his solid base and gently braced back leg giving him the leverage to get under the ball and whack it over the ropes. Remind you of another young wicketkeeper-batter back in the day?
Unlike several modern-day hitters, Ajitesh is not legside-dominant. The right-hander accesses areas effortlessly on the off-side and has already dazzled with a few lofted cover drives in the TNPL. He is assured against both pace and spin, using the depth of the crease to great effect and throwing bowlers off their lengths.
It won't be easy for such a player to mold his game for the longer formats, and Ajitesh is aware that he needs to put in the hard yards. He has what it takes to become an all-format superstar; now it's just a question of application and consistency.
Ajitesh will play in Chennai's first-division league for the first time later this year. As of now, though, the young batter is focused on TNPL glory with his mentor KB Arun Karthick's NRK, who are close to the top of the table with four wins from five matches.
“As of now, I’m just preparing for the TNPL. I’m not looking that far ahead; I’m just looking to finish this TNPL and then after it’s over, I’ll start my preparation for the league. According to the format, I will need to finetune my batting. It’s going to be a good challenge, and a good amount of hard work has to be put in to sustain batting well in the longer formats as well,” Ajitesh concedes.
Ajitesh might not believe in the concept of a "big stage", but there are certainly several platforms for him to express himself, some of which reach wider audiences. And there are definitely higher honors to follow as a result of his measured process.
Stay tuned for Act Two!
Also Read: "Learning from MS Dhoni is something I'd love to do one day" - TNPL sensation G Ajitesh on trusting the process, role models and more