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Nishant Sindhu steps up with bat and captaincy
The all-rounder from Rohtak, Haryana often came to India’s rescue during the U-19 World Cup campaign, crucially scoring a fifty to help prevail over a fighting England in Saturday’s final.
As the celebrations of Saturday’s U-19 World Cup triumph in the West Indies continue, Nishant Sindhu, the 17-year-old from Rohtak to hit a crucial fifty under pressure to help beat England in the final, received another great news. The all-rounder has been named in the Haryana Ranji Trophy side for the coming season.
“The selection of the senior state team was there in my mind. I knew if I did well in the U-19 World Cup, I could be picked. Now I want to focus on the senior circuit,” an elated Sindhu said on a call from the Antigua airport.
A left-arm spinner and batter, he hit 50* off 54 balls to help India clinch the four-wicket win. Chasing 190, India were reeling at 97/4 with vice-captain Shaik Rasheed and captain Yash Dhull out in succession. Sindhu and Rajangad Bawa raised a 67-run stand to revive the chase. Bawa was out for 35, but Sindhu held firm. He had bowled a tight spell of 6-1-19-0 in India’s brilliant bowling display.
“Losing Yash early was a jolt. The England bowlers were bowling tightly. I and Rajangad decided to go for singles and doubles and build a partnership. In the end I and Dinesh kept our nerve and pulled off the chase,” Sindhu said.
“That’s how Nishant plays. He is very mature for his age and reads the game well… I’ve been seeing him since his U-14 days, Nishant has raised his game. That’s why he has been doing consistently well for Haryana in U-14s, U-16s and U-19s,” said Haryana U-19 team coach, Pankaj Thakur. Sindhu took six wickets and scored 140 runs in five games.
“He showed tremendous captaincy in Yash’s absence in two games (due to Covid),” added Thakur. Sindhu led against Ireland and Uganda. He too tested positive and missed the game against Bangladesh.
“In the absence of Yash, we knew Nishant could handle the team well as he has led Haryana to U-16 and U-19 titles. But when he tested positive, I was disappointed. But he remained calm during isolation. Luckily, he was available for the semi-final (Australia) onwards,” said Thakur.
Nishant trained as a boxer before taking up cricket. “I am just thinking about celebrating the World Cup win with my family and then heading to the Ranji camp,” Sindhu said. His father Sunil Sindhu was a state level boxer and wanted his son to represent India in boxing, but Nishant found a different route to achieve sporting glory after joining the academy run by former Haryana first-class cricketer, Ashwani Kumar.
His progress has been rapid. Sindhu amassed 572 runs and bagged 23 wickets in the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy in 2018-19, leading Haryana to victory over Jharkhand in the final. In 2020, with the pandemic raging, Sindhu and many young players were robbed off a season.
“When BCCI announced the U-19 tournaments before the Asia Cup and the World Cup, I was pumped up. HCA organised many specialized camps and I was back in the rhythm,” said Sindhu, who led Haryana to the Vinoo Mankad U-19 Trophy after 19 years beating Maharashtra in the final.
