Priyam wants his willow do the talking in knockout ties too
LUCKNOW Unlike other cricketers from Meerut, Priyam Garg lets his willow do the talking, leaving all kind of bowling attacks in the domestic circuit look for a cover as his plays with perfection.
A double century, two centuries and four half centuries this season, which takes his tally to 740 runs in nine matches at a staggering average of 74, speaks volumes of his maturity as a batsman as his home town is better known for producing great seamers like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi.
Priyam, 18, looks different on the wicket, especially sporting the helmet. His stroke-play and perfection in shot selection easily reminds one about many legendary batsmen of yore. “I have my own style of batting and I don’t know whom I copy and the only thing I know is to score runs as much as I can,” Priyam told HT on Monday.
Hailing from a family of businessmen, Priyam had his early cricketing days like any other young boy, playing gully cricket and in school. But once he joined Victoria Park Cricket Academy under the tutelage of Sanjay Rastogi, he started taking the game seriously.
“In the beginning, it remained just a fun to me in my mohalla and school too. But when I joined the serious cricket at Victoria Park Ground, it became a passion to me,” said Priyam, who in his under-19 days, scored as many as seven centuries to be picked up in India Under-19 squad for the Asia Cup.
“That experience with India under-19 team changed my vision for the high-level game like Ranji Trophy. The game is same at every stage, the difference is of the mind set and I was sure to get a good going when I had my debut match for UP Ranji team this season.”
Priyam, who started with an unbeaten 117 against Goa in his debut match at Kanpur in November, made his maiden double hundred against Assam here in December. “Right now, I am enjoying my batting and would like to continue the same form against Saurashtra too in the quarterfinals,” said Priyam, who along with UP’s highest run getter this season so far Rinku Singh, has formed a superb combination to give strength to middle-order.
“Rinku and I hold a different kind of combination at the ground. We remain simple in our batting, communication is good and keep special focus on running between the wickets,” said Priyam, who refused to accept that Cheteshwar Pujara’s presence in Saurashtra team would be any kind of pressure on the home side.
“It’s just a one-ball game for any batsman. We are focusing on our strength, and would like to win the match against the visitors,” he said.