Wonder boy Aditya Garhwal says comparisons with Sehwag embarrassing; doesn't want to get carried away
Aditya Garhwal, the 18-year-old Rajasthan batsman is gathering plenty of attention off late and is already being earmarked as one for the future. The reason being his astonishing aggregate of runs for Central Zone in the Vinoo Mankad Under-19 one-day championship.
His scores in the tournament are – 32 (v Uttar Pradesh), 263 not out (v Railways), 196 (v Madhya Pradesh), 212 (v Vidarbha) and 60 (v Chhattisgarh). Such devastating numbers have fetched him the nickname of ‘Chota Veeru,’ drawing comparisons with Virender Sehwag owing to his exploits as a power hitter.
"I feel it is too early. There have been only a few innings and people have started calling me names and have started me comparing to likes of Virender Sehwag. I’m not even a finger tip of the greats like Viru who have tremendous records in national as well as international cricket. I feel embarrassed and would like to be grounded and not carried away with this," Aditya told PTI.
The player who idolizes Virat Kohli, has revealed that he could only manage 60 runs in last year’s competition and wishes to be more consistent with the bat.
"I have seen ups and downs. I was depressed when I could muster a mere 60 from five innings in the same tournament last year. I want to be more consistent and iron out flaws with the help of my seniors and coaches.
"I was more aggressive and wanted to score off every ball but I have learnt to wait for loose balls and play on merit. We have to play against Mumbai in Jaipur from 1st to 4th November and take on Hyderabad in away game. It would be a new challenge as there would be more expectations from me," said Aditya, who has smashed 38 sixes and 68 fours in the competition so far.
Dejected after being dismissed for 196
Speaking on his game, he admits to have his own share of problems against left-arm spin. The cricketer is also disappointed to miss out on a consecutive double century.
"It is the left-arm spin which troubles me. I love to pull but I have learnt to be patient. I was dejected having lost a chance of creating a world record by scoring a consecutive double ton after I was out on 196 against Madhya Pradesh but when I reached a three figure mark against Vidarbha I was determined to reach the milestone with a double ton," said Aditya.
Impressed by Aditya’s jaw-dropping performances, Suresh Raina has sent him an autographed cricket bat and he was quite happy about it. The right hander also informed that he has not received any official approaches from any of the IPL sides.
"I have not received any calls directly from any IPL team. It is just a beginning and it would take a long time to reach anywhere near the greats like Virender Sehwag and I frankly don’t know whether I would be able to reach that far," he concluded.