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by IANS |
New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) These are good times for Vidarbha's right-handed opener Aman Mokhade, as his run-making spree in the Vijay Hazare Trophy has led the side to the competition's title clash for the second successive time.
As Vidarbha prepare to take the field for the final against Saurashtra at the BCCI CoE Ground in Bengaluru on Sunday, Mokhade will be eyeing taking Vidarbha over the line with another blistering knock.
In Vidarbha’s semi-final win over Karnataka, Mokhade equalled the record for most centuries in a Vijay Hazare Trophy edition by hitting his fifth century of the tournament. Mokhade’s 781 runs coming at an average of 97.62 make him the competition's leading run-getter.
He also equalled South African great Graeme Pollock's world record of completing 1,000 List A runs in just 16 innings, becoming the fastest Indian to reach the mark. The surge in Mokhade’s fortunes follows after being on the fringes of Vidarbha side.
With a solid top-order in Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod, Karun Nair and Danish Malewar, opportunities were scarce for Mokhade to establish himself.
Jwala Singh, the coach of India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, has been coaching Mokhade since 2023 and feels proud over the youngster having a remarkable time in the ongoing competition.
“I don't say much when a player performs well. I talk very little and feel that when a player is already doing well, what else can he do better if I say something? I just told him one thing - that you are already in a good zone. You are already doing well. Just keep playing like this. You are in a fine zone - so make it bigger and bigger.
“When you are already doing well, then try to make it better and he will do it. I really feel the way Vidarbha kept him with the team last year and now have given him chances in the matches (has been wonderful). So in this final match, I am sure he will perform well and win the trophy for Vidarbha,” Jwala told IANS in an exclusive conversation from Australia.
Mokhade's breakthrough time in this domestic season came when Nair returned to Karnataka and Malewar was injured. He responded with 577 runs in first phase of Ranji Trophy at an average of 96.16, before amassing 206 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at a strike-rate of 157.25.
Jwala recalled how he first connected with Mokhade in 2023 after receiving a message from him. “I was in England for my yearly coaching work, and I got a message from this guy that I play for Vidarbha and want to train under you. Someone has given me your number. I said ‘I don't take everyone, but you send me your biodata and I will see what you have.’
“But I had in the back of my mind that this kid has come to me, so I have to give him some good inputs. I used to message him on what to do, and what not to do. My conversations started from there and after that, he has been with me. A good thing about him is whenever he gets time, he always comes to Mumbai.
“Because he also plays from Vidarbha, there is club cricket and it is important for him to stay there too. So, whenever he gets a chance, he asks me, ‘Sir, you are available?’ When I am available, he comes. Recently, he came to me in June and he called me in the evening and said, ‘Sir, are you in Mumbai tomorrow morning?’
“I said, ‘Yes, I am’. So, he took bus and came in the morning. He is very dedicated towards cricket and talking about dedication and devotion, because I saw in his (semi-final) match, the way he was present there and tried to win the game and won it too; he has a long way to go,” he elaborated.
The partnership between Jwala and Mokhade took a serious turn after the Irani Cup in 2024, where the coach felt he had the ability to play multi-day cricket, but the stroke-play and capability of shifting gears needed an upgrade.
“When such players come who are playing Ranji Trophy and Under-23 for the state, then my job is to accelerate them as a coach. It’s because your next level will be either the IPL or you will have to be a top performer in domestic cricket or maybe anything ahead. So, he had some strokes that I felt were missing.
“For example, we worked a lot on the pull and cut shots. Between point and cover, a lot of work was done on perfecting the square drive. The cover drive was already good, so we didn't have to work that much on it. We worked on the flick; as in white-ball cricket, the most important thing is to hit over mid-on and mid-off and hit a new ball downtown. So, most of the work was done on the acceleration of his game,” he said.
But refining the technique alone wasn't enough, as Jwala took charge of keeping Mokhade motivated during last season's frustrations over lack of game time. “After a certain stage, cricket is a mind game. So how do you keep yourself self-motivated and hungry for making runs? In cricket, a lot of times, you do very well but you don't get a chance.
“A lot of times, a stage comes where you work very hard, but you don't get a chance in the team. So I always told him one thing - we have to win big battles. If you see any war and the big victories, it's not necessary that all the soldiers in front of you will die and only then will you win. You have to fight till the end.
“As long as you keep fighting, there are chances of winning and no matter how hard you work, it will definitely pay off. Even if you are failing, your mindset should be the same…” he elaborated.
Mokhade's centuries in this tournament have come against Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. His consistency across formats this season have established him as a potential all-format player.
“If you see his batting, he changes gears and you can see that in how he plays red-ball cricket and white-ball formats. In this Vijay Hazare Trophy, he has understood how to change gears, adapt to situations, and play the game because the job of an opening batsman is to run the match.
“You play from the first over, have to keep one end up and try to take the team to victory. So the way he has started, he is an all-format player, as you will see very few players who adapt to every format and dominate like this,” said Jwala.
Now in his fourth first-class season since debuting in 2022/23, Mokhade has transformed waiting into opportunity. The philosophy Jwala preaches remains unchanged for Mokhade to keep the good times going.
“See, cricket is a game of bat and ball. If you think too much, it leads to problems. The more you think, the more you complicate your process. For Aman, it's simple - one match and one ball and this will take you upwards. What will happen next, you don't have to think much about it because we didn't know that this would happen today.
“So, this is the outcome of what you did today, and you have to follow the process. You have to be present and try to play (well) for your team and state as much as you can. For now, this is enough for him,” he concluded.
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