India’s pacer Shivam Mavi announced himself to the world as he enjoyed taking four wickets in the T20I match against Sri Lanka. The Hardik Pandya-led side faced the Islanders in the first of the three-game T20I series at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a thrilling final ball.
Shivam Mavi, who made his national team debut in the clash, returned with superb bowling figures as he picked four wickets and scored just 22 runs in his four-set overs. After the match, Mavi expressed her feelings about making an international debut, calling it “a dream come true”.
“Just a dream come true for me. It’s my first tour and getting a chance in the first game is a big thing. Usually, players don’t get the chance that quickly, but it happened to me. I waited six years after the U-19 World Cup and got injured, but I kept believing in myself and kept working hard,” Shivam Mavi told News 18.
My plan is to assault within the powerplay: Shivam Mavi
The Uttar Pradesh-born pacer has been a prominent face in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic circuit but has often been sidelined due to injuries. Because of this, young Mavi had to wait almost six years for her call to wear the Men in Blue costume. He went on to say that he had the plan to enter the competition, which could be one of the reasons why the pacemaker got excellent marks in his entries.
“After the U-19 World Cup, when I played IPL and home games, I suffered from injuries. But it was clear in my mind that I needed to increase my fitness. I was performing, but I also injured myself. So I worked hard and got the results I wanted,” said Mavi.
“I have played IPL games in this area. So I plan to attack the power game. Even if I get hit over the limits, it doesn’t matter. I keep looking for wickets”, concludes Shivam Mavi.
He never gives up
“He never gives up,” says Venky Mysore, chief executive of the Kolkata Knight Riders, recalling that during the IPL match last April. Mysore had picked a raw Mavi after India’s Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2018 and matured him into a quality goer under coaches Abhishek Nayar and Omkar Salvi who worked with him for five years in KKR and Academy franchise in Kolkata. “When he had time, he would come to our academy and work tirelessly with Nayar and Salvi,” says Mysore.
“I waited six years after playing for Under 19. I had to work hard in those six years, I also got injured. For a moment it seemed that my dream would remain a dream. But I continued. After the IPL, The nervousness is a bit less”, Mavi told the host announcer after the game.
As a cricketer, Shivam Mavi comes across as a determined and uncompromising player with a fighting spirit. Discipline is his forte and he consistently clocked 140 on the speed gun, moving the ball in both directions. One of the wickets on Tuesday was a delivery that was bowled and moved at high speed. He would later say it was the best of his four scalps.
“He is a very disciplined player with a great work ethic,” explains Nayar, a former all-rounder from India and Mumbai. “His strength is his ability to handle pressure. He has played a lot of T20 cricket and now he is very well prepared. It is a calling (Indian debut) that he deserves.”
Nayar feels Mavi can land big hitters in crucial stages. It was clear how he knocked out Hasaranga, as Sri Lanka was 108 for five in the fifteenth. Sri Lanka needed almost 10 runs in its last five. They lost by two runs.
“He performed consistently and got us big hitters at KKR,” Nayar recalled. “He’s someone who can clock over 140km/h and can bowl a good yorker. He’s a great fielder and I think he’s a great package. I’m glad he got the chance to play for India,” Nayar added. He says.
Bharat Arun, the Knight Riders assistant coach, is very impressed with Mavi. “He has the important pace. He can execute the plans very well and he is a very quick-tempered client, who also has a good goalkeeper. It is a well-deserved debut and I see him as an exciting prospect for the country. ” India’s former bowling coach tells Cricbuzz.
At the recent auction, Mavi was picked by the Gujarat Titans, but Mysore still considers the 24-year-old UP pacemaker his own. “He has been with us through thick and thin and our best wishes go out to him.”
Mysore selected him alongside Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, both U19 World Cup stars, in the 2018 auction. Nagarkoti’s career was marred by injury, but Gill has already established himself as a star. After Tuesday night’s show, Shivam Mavi could also be on her way to stardom.
