‘Can perform under pressure’
NEW DELHI: India’s U-19 Asia Cup final hero Harsh Tyagi’s coach Phoolchand Sharma recalls two games which convinced him that the left-arm spinner was made for bigger things.
“When he was still under-14, he played a game for Delhi Wonders against a strong FCI team in the DDCA Hot Weather tournament at Kotla. He picked four for 28 in seven overs in his team’s win. Ex-India star Joginder Sharma, who was man of the match, gifted his award (~4000 and a T-shirt) to the little boy to encourage him,” says Phoolchand, who trains Tyagi at his academy in a Noida school.
“Around the same period, (ex-Delhi stumper) Puneet Bisht took him to play a game for a club. The coach refused to play such a young kid but gave in after Bisht insisted. He bowled one change and picked 4/28 which helped rein in the opposition that had raced to 80 in eight overs,” said Phoolchand, who has also coached India’s 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning hero Shivam Mavi.
However, things weren’t always rosy. Tyagi was one of the many players, along with U-19 World Cup stars Mavi and Manjot Kalra, whose inclusion in Delhi cricket was opposed by ex-India cricketer Kirti Azad on account of alleged age discrepancy. Tyagi survived that and played for the Delhi U-19s to become one of the top wicket-takers in the country at the level in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
“The U-19 performance in 2016-17 (48 wickets) helped him earn a place in U-23 side where he took 15 wickets in three games. He picked 45 wickets for U-19 side in 2017-18. But last season he got just two U-23 games where he was under-bowled,” says the coach.
With a chance to play Ranji looking difficult in near future as Delhi already have a slew of leftarm spinners in Manan Sharma, Vikas Mishra and Pawan Negi, Tyagi switched to Railways where he secured a job.