After 16 years, a Bhopali will lead MP Ranji Trophy team

BHOPAL: First time in 16 years, the MP Ranji Trophy team will be lead by a Bhopali. According to the state cricket board, city boy Aditya Shrivastava, who has been declared captain of the MP Ranji trophy, is the third skipper in the history of the state team hailing from Bhopal.
The last captain from Bhopal was Brijesh Tomar, who led the team in 2006. Suhail Ansari has also led the MP Ranji team.
A middle-order batsman and a part-time leg-break bowler, Aditya has been a regular player of Ankur Cricket Academy. He also has the credit of scoring four centuries in his first six matches of the Ranji trophy. Talking to TOI, Aditya said, “I am thankful to the selectors for choosing me the captain of the team and I will try to prove my mettle. Captaincy will not affect my performance in any situation,” said the 27-year-old. His father Rakesh Shrivastava is a Bhopal businessman.
Shrivastava had debuted for the Ranji team in 2015 against Karnataka. “I have a good experience of playing in the Ranji trophy. I think it will help me a lot when I appear for the tournament this year,” said Shrivastava. He has played 26 first-class matches so far and scored 1,588 runs with an average of 41.78 and a strike rate of 43.16. His highest score is 192 runs. In the list A category, he has played 11 matches and scored 398 runs with an average of 44.22 and a strike rate of 91.91.
His coach JP Tyagi said that Aditya has been a consistent performer. “I have seen several cricketers, but the best thing about Aditya is that he is a quick learner and a hard worker. He never takes the coach’s advice casually and is always eager to learn and improve his game. He came when he was just a 11-year-old and since then I have been coaching him,” said Tyagi, who was also a noted batsman of the 90s. Even Aditya felt that he could reach such a level because of Tyagi’s coaching tips. “Whatever the game I have learnt is just because of Tyagi sir. He has been always there to help me improve my game,” said Aditya. Former Ranji captain, Tomar said, “Aditya has the knack of leading a team. I think he will take the team to a higher level in the season.”