cricket

Updated: Nov 27, 2018 10:49 IST

When you come from a family known for their supreme business acumen, majority of the times the off-spring is tasked with the job of taking the legacy further. But such is not the case with Aryaman Birla, son of business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla, who is creating his own legacy with just a willow in hand.

Recently, the spotlight was on Aryaman for all the right reasons as he struck a majestic ton to help his team snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat in a Ranji Trophy encounter at the historic Eden Gardens. Madhya Pradesh were staring down the barrel against Bengal but Aryaman, who was playing his third first class game, showed tremendous grit and composure to bail his team out of trouble.

“It was a special knock for me especially because we were in a difficult position at 69/3 and to get my maiden first class ton at Eden Gardens was a great feeling. As a child you hear so much about the stadium and to get you first century there is very special,” Aryaman told Hindustan Times.

In the two matches that he has played this season, Aryaman already has a ton and fifty to his name. While his half-century was overshadowed by teammate Rajat Patidar’s brilliant 196 against Tamil Nadu, against Bengal, his talent shone the brightest. Despite getting off to a flying start in the season, Aryaman is not getting ahead of himself and wants to keep his feet firmly on the ground.

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“It is important to not look too far ahead. I just want to take it game by game as it is going to be a long season. Looking too far ahead will be wrong on my part and just want to focus on the next match and see how that goes. I just want to give my best in each and every game and I am sure results will follow,” he said.

On the day when he cracked his maiden ton in India’s premier domestic tournament, there was another reason for Aryaman to celebrate as he was among the 16 who were retained by Rajasthan Royals for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While crediting IPL for helping him grow in confidence despite not being able to break into the team last season, Aryaman reiterated that he is not thinking about that right now and wants to focus on the ongoing Ranji season.

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“That’s looking too far ahead (playing for Rajasthan Royals). I got to know late on Thursday (about getting retained) but my focus was completely on the job at hand (playing for MP). It wasn’t something that I thought about at all. We have a lot of cricket to go before that (IPL 2019),” Aryaman said.

“The IPL for me was a great opportunity to learn and grow as a person and also as a cricketer. Coming out of that IPL season gave me immense confidence and that is something that I have tried to carry forward. The goal is to keep evolving and growing,” he signed off.