Ever since his debut in 2015, he has shown incredible capabilities of contributing to the team with both the bat and the ball. In his very first season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker.
He recently gathered a lot of fame by becoming the only player to have scored two double hundreds in T20s. He has also shared the dressing room with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Navdeep Saini, Pradeep Sangwan and so on.
Click here to see Subodh Bhati's profile & his statistics in all sorts of recognised cricket
In this column, we'll try to bring out the journey of Subodh Bhati as a cricketer, the struggles, the highs and lows of his career and much more.
Q. How has your journey been so far in cricket?
It's been great so far. I'm enjoying it.
Q. Who was your inspiration for playing cricket?
I was crazy since childhood to play. But as I grew up, I started watching Parwinder Awana play. He has played for India. I've grown up watching the likes of Parwinder Awana and Ishant Sharma. I have always wanted to be their way. They supported me a lot during my journey.
Q. You were the third highest wicket taker in your very first Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament in 2015. Do you feel your performance in the tournament didn't get due recognition?
Ofcourse. Because, the Deodhar Trophy was round the corner and the champion side of Vijay Hazare take part in it along with a India A and B side customized by the selectors. I performed extremely well in the tournament. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel too had performed well for their teams but as they were already in the Gujarat squad, so they were bound to feature in Deodhar Trophy. If considered apart from Gujarat, only Siddharth Kaul from Punjab had more wickets than I had but my name didn't appear anywhere, neither in India A nor B. It was a bit shocking for me. I expected to be picked in either of the teams as the year had gone well for me.
Click here to see the list of highest wicket-takers in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015-16
Q. You would've felt dissatisfied as you weren't selected. So how did you deal with it?
I wasn't really disappointed. I was happy. Because the disappointment happens to one who has something to lose. I didn't have anything to lose. It was my first season and I performed well. I got recognition amidst people. I hoped to do well in the upcoming season so that I would be in contention again.
Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way and I had to pick myself up all over again.
Squad Selected for Deodhar Trophy 2015-16 (Courtesy: Wikipedia)
Q. Your First class, List A and T20 records are fantastic. Are you hoping for an IPL contract soon?
Every cricketer's dream is to play the IPL and so is mine. In around 40 recgonised T20 games that I have so far, I possess an economy of 7.42 at an average of 21.36 with the ball which is extremely good for this format. I really expect to be picked up by some franchise in the upcoming mega auctions.
I was with Rajasthan Royals in my early days. It's not that I don't get call ups. I certainly get call ups by one or the other franchise as a net bowler. I was also recalled by Delhi Capitals in 2019. I have been in contention always. I always appear in the auctions. I have been hoping that someone would pick me. I've a good record in first-class and List A cricket.
I bat a bit but score at a fast rate. In the initial part of my career, I used to bat at number 3 but as I was a hard hitting batsman, I was demoted in order to get the best out of my blade. Also, I couldn't handle the pressure well whenever I batted at the top as I was not so matured back then. I used to get out trying to slog. So I came under the label of lower order hard hitting bowling all rounder. In whatever opportunities I got, I tried to make the most of it with consistent cameos. I felt something good was to happen to me, but it didn't. I’ve moved ahead of all of it though as working hard without expecting anything is my duty.
Q. You've been in competitive cricket for a long time and possess the versatility of batting as well as bowling anywhere at any stage of the game. What's your take on it?
Yeah I'm consistent. I'm getting matured with the age. I've got the abilities of winning the matches both as an anchor and as an aggressor with the bat. I can bowl upfront as well as at the death. My teammates always believe in me. They believe in my versatility.
Q. Being a Delhi based player, what was the reason that you initially tried to play for Rajasthan?
The facilities in the ground which I used to play wasn't great. I didn't know how to move forward with respect to my game. Cricket is a profession these days, but it used to be just a game back then.
My family didn't really show belief in me back in my early days. Till the final of the 2017-18 Ranji season, my parents didn't know whether I was a batsman or a bowler but now they do encourage me a lot. I actually performed well in a minor tournament, which brought me an offer to play for Jaipur. I performed well there and got the opportunity to play for the district team. I played U19 in the following season and got 63 wickets in 13 matches along with about 350 runs which helped me become the standby player for Rajasthan.
Q. How did you return back to Delhi team from Rajasthan?
I was playing simultaneously for Rajasthan and Delhi (club level). I was attending the camps on both the sides and was the standby player for about 3 years. So when the call-up came from Delhi, I moved over there.
Q. How has your experience been, playing for Delhi? How do you feel while watching some of your teammates achieve a big name for themselves at the big stage?
If I've to sum it up, I wouldn't be successful without the assistance of my seniors like Ishant Sharma, Gautam Bhaiya and so on. There's a saying that one has to keep on working and God helps in one or the other ways. For me, this game has been everything. I used to stay in Modinagar (a town on the Delhi-Meerut highway) and used to come to Ghaziabad everyday to play cricket. It's 2 hours away from the ground. I didn't have the money to pay for the bus so I used to come by truck. So from travelling by truck to play cricket to representing Delhi in about 70-80 games, I am grateful for everything. I've got tremendous support from my seniors like Ishant Sharma, Parwinder Awana and Gautam Bhaiya. They all helped me to become the player I am now.
Once the team management had dropped me from the squad citing the combination issues. A player got injured and I was recalled. I played a match against Saurashtra that had the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and I got 5 wickets in the match. So I felt what was wrong with someone who was the third highest wicket taker in a domestic tournament who didn't fit in the combination of the team. I am a fast bowler who can even contribute decently with the bat. This is exactly the dimension that many IPL teams and infact even the Indian team has been looking for some while. In the process, many guys got their opportunities. I wish I had got a go as well but unfortunately apart from playing for Delhi, I didn’t go anywhere else. I will always be thankful to Delhi for the opportunities they have been providing to me.
I feel happy when my teammates get selected to represent big teams. I watch IPL matches to see my teammates perform well. I believe in god. I believe he's the one who gives everything. I feel my fruits are due to come in the upcoming days. I believe someone would surely recognize the talent in me one day.
Q. You mentioned your struggles and difficult situations. Could you elaborate how it happened?
My dad had lost his job and that led to a financial crisis in the family. I was initially trying for Rajasthan. I used to stay alone in Jaipur. I was young back then and used to get about ₹3000 per month for the expenses from home. I couldn't stay in a good place with that money, as I had to manage it for my food and other expenses. I didn't have a proper place to stay so I used to live in a slum but I kept on playing my game in an attempt to improve.
I don't regret for anything. I don't regret for the struggles I have faced. Playing cricket was my dream. One has to struggle to fulfill their dreams. At the end, one has to see the positive side of the struggles.
To be honest, I never thought that a person with no money to reach stadium would be playing cricket at such a big professional level one day. I've seen everything in life and every opportunity that comes my way means a lot to me. When I look back, I recall my struggles which motivates me to work hard again.
Q. Describe your double hundred that you hit recently.
The first ball I faced that day came on to the bat nicely. I felt good about it. But one has to be careful and not be overconfident and judge the right balls to hit. I got dropped once early in the inning. I felt I had to slow down a bit and not go behind every ball. I didn't know how quickly I reached 50-70 runs. My teammates informed me when I got to my hundred. I got hit on my thighs and was slightly in pain but I kept on batting. When I was informed that I had reached 140, I felt I could get a double but my bleeding continued and I decided not to take the aerial route. Finally in the last over of the match, I reached the landmark.
Click here to see the scorecard of Subodh Bhati's 205*
Q. How did your double hundred in 'All Goa T20 Tournament 2018' help your progress in cricket?
Honestly, it didn't help in any way. A couple of news channels reported it but nothing apart from that. It was good enough for newspaper cutting and google search but I keep asking myself whether it's easy to score a double hundred in a T20 game. I feel I'm capable in atleast something.
Q. How do you feel to be the only cricketer to have scored two double hundreds in T20s?
Whenever I think about it, I feel proud about myself. At the same time, I also feel a bit disappointed. I get so many offers from the leagues abroad but nothing from my own country.
My selectors don't enquire about my performances. I don't get enough support but some people do criticize a lot. People easily forget the hard work being put in. Surely, a player would be having highs and lows in one's career but people easily see the negative side of the efforts. People should understand that even a non-working clock shows the correct time twice a day.
Some people think that scoring two double hundreds in club games isn't a big deal but we all know that thousands of club games happen everyday in India and way more across the world then why has nobody been able to emulate my feat of hitting 2 double centuries in a T20; I think this itself speaks volumes about my ability that I have a world record with my secondary ability forget the primary one. I honestly don't know how people judge the performances.
Q. What goals do you have for near future?
Ultimately, everyone's goal is to play for India. Right now, I'm looking forward for the upcoming T20 season. I'm not thinking of much. I just want to keep improving. I want to keep getting better with regards to my batting and bowling abilities. I'm also focusing on improving my fitness.
Q. You'd be 31 soon. Somewhere do you feel you're running out of time?
I got your point. I'm giving my everything for the upcoming T20 season. I want to perform well and come above in the pecking order. I feel I have seen competitive cricket way too much and the advantage that has given me is that I am a matured cricketer now due to all of it and I feel I have become someone who will not miss out on any opportunities when they come.
I feel I'm born to play cricket, I'm modeled to play the game. I'm not looking far ahead. Right now I'm focusing on doing well in the upcoming season.
Overall if I've to summarize, it hasn't been an easy journey so far. If I'm something today, several persons are responsible. It's hard to pay them back. I personally want to thank my family, Gautam Gambhir Bhaiya, Gautam Vadhera Bhaiya, Naman Sharma Bhaiya, Tareeq Sir, Parwinder Awana Bhaiya and Naresh Sharma Bhaiya, who have played a key role in my development as a cricketer.
I would also like to thank Bhaskar Borah who was my personal trainer and gave his all to work on my fitness. He didn’t charge even a single penny from me as I had no money with me back then. He has been pretty instrumental in my development and he has really wished the best for me all the time without thinking even an iota about himself.
