Chris Gayle (30 balls) is the fastest scoring century in the IPL. Which has been intact for the last 12 years. Sunrisers Hyderabad has a batsman that has the strength to break this record. He is Aniket Verma, who lives in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.
Aniket, 23, scored a century in 32 balls in the MP Premier League last year. This week, he hit four consecutive sixes on the ball of Sri Lankan spinner Kamindu Mendis in the practice match of Sunrisers Hyderabad. He scored 46 off 16 balls.
Aniket Verma plays from Madhya Pradesh in local cricket.
Before joining the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp, Aniket Verma came to the Atletico de Calcutta office. He talked about his early career, struggles and IPL.
Mother died when I was young and father married another
Aniket's uncle Amit Verma says – 'Aniket died when he was 3 years old. When the father married another, I brought him here. He has been with me ever since. My dream is to play for India and become Man of the Match. Then the award will dedicate me. I have full faith in it.
Aniket Verma's uncle Amit Verma. Amit is credited with Aniket's success.
The coach gave free training and also gave his flat to stay
Aniket came to me in 2010. In the beginning it was not special, but later it began to improve. I was especially focused on him because he was fond of cricket and was from a poor family.
That's why I didn't charge any fees. There were not so many facilities in my academy. I sent her to the Jyoti brother's shoots for training. He also trained him for free.
At one time he didn't have a house to stay in Bhopal. His homeowner had evacuated the house. In such a case, at the behest of Aniket's uncle, he gave his flat to stay and did not take the rent. He stayed in my flat for 3 years.
Anket's answers to Bhaskar's questions …
Question: You are going to play IPL for the first time. What is going on in your mind, is there any pressure or excise?
– I'm very excited right now. You will learn a lot of things. This is my beginning. From here, I have to move on. There is a lot to learn from the big players there. We have to find opportunities and take advantage of them. I will focus on improving myself.
Question: All players in the IPL are big. What do you want to meet a particular name you want to meet?
– I want to meet Hardik Pandya. I will talk to him about his fitness, bat flow and his hitting ability. Apart from them, I want to learn a flick shot from Kohli, a bridge from Rohit and a flick short from Pant. I will also talk to Dhoni about patience and common sense. I want to ask Bumrah how he understands the batsman. She specializes in this art.
Question: Tell about your early training. I've heard you got free training?
Yes, my family background was not so strong. First of all I went to the Railway Youth Cricket Club. There, Nandjit Sir taught me the basics. After that, Jyoti Prakash Tyagi improved my bat in the shoots. Now I get training at the Faith Cricket Club.
Question: No success is easily found. You too may have seen many ups and downs. You want to share anything with us?
– I did not face much struggle because Chacha (uncle) was always with me. Whenever I needed anything, I wanted them and brought them from anywhere. I think the struggle has been theirs. They were not financially strong. Despite this, he did not let me lack anything. He could not meet his needs, but he fulfilled my needs.
Question- Do you remember any such event? I still remember that I didn't have a phone and I had to go to play under-14 division. The uncle then borrowed from a friend and got an Android phone and he used a keypad phone himself.
Question: The last season of the MP Premier League proved to be the turning point of your career. Tell me about the innings that gave you this opportunity?
– I thank God. I took some time, then a big spin over came. After that, I continued to advance the innings. In that match, everyone told me that your grip is strong in this match, you can take time and play well.
Question: What was going on in your mind during the mega auction?
– After the MP League, many franchises called me for a trial. But I had some hope from Hyderabad, because my trial in Hyderabad was good. But, when my name came to the mega auction, I was terrified as the names were being skipped. When 324 arrived, my heartbeat was on the rise. At that time I was playing Bapu's cup in Nagpur. The board was with the entire team.
Question: 1 lakh … was the expectations a little higher or you wanted a chance, because the IPL opened the door for Team India?
I wanted a chance. It is a big deal to get an opportunity. This is a great opportunity for me. My effort will be to make the best use of it. I should not let him go. I'm going with full preparation for this. So that when I get a chance, I can use it maximum.
Question: SRH has batsmen like Travis Head, Henrick Classen and Abhishek Sharma. Where do you see your place?
At the Finnish position … I think I can place at number 6-7. Because, my power hitting is good. I hit a good hit against both spinners and pacer.
Question- Say about 400+ innings. Whenever it talks about a 400+ score, does Lara's name come?
– That inning was the turning point of my whole career. Because everything around me changed after that innings. The big thing was that I wasn't going to play that match because my form wasn't good and I felt like I would not have a chance in playing-11. Then there was the only thing in my mind that today should not be out. I'll play all day today. I continued to play and continued to run. I haven't played many dangerous shots. I had patience.
Question- Who gives you the most inspiration? What do you like in it?
– Virat Kohli. I like their intent. Whether it is out at zero or making 100 runs, the intent that it shows on the field is wonderful. While fielding, he celebrates more than a bowler. I like many innings of it. I love his Melbourne innings the most.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).