Hes the brand newPandya on the block

A 12 months in the past, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium bore witness to the rise of younger stars. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 13-year-old prodigy from Bihar shocked the cricketing world with a fearless century in opposition to Australia Under-19, his array of strokes made individuals on the floor sit up and take discover and in addition garnered international consideration.

In the identical collection, away from the highlight, a 17-year-old quietly made his mark. Calm, composed, and resilient—Nitya J. Pandya scored a gentle 54 within the first ‘Test’ and a decided 94 within the second.

Since then, Suryavanshi lit up the IPL taking part in for Rajasthan Royals, making waves throughout the nation and past.

For Nitya, Cooch Behar Trophy grew to become his canvas—two double tons of, two centuries, and the match’s prime run-scorer (881 runs in six matches). His reward — A spot in Baroda’s Ranji Trophy squad.

Now, destiny has introduced him again to Chennai—town that first embraced his expertise. And as soon as once more, he has delivered: a match-defining 102 (first innings) and 54 in opposition to Odisha within the Buchi Babu match.

In an unique interplay with The Hindu, Nitya expressed his pleasure at coming again to town. “It’s a terrific feeling to be again right here, this place is like residence to me. The wickets in Chennai are very batting-friendly, however you continue to need to be disciplined and affected person. That’s what I’ve targeted on”.

Reflecting on his time through the ‘Youth Test’, he mentioned, “Playing in opposition to Australia was an enormous second. Representing your nation is a privilege.”

Nitya credited his coaches for serving to him keep grounded and targeted, “My coaches, Digvijay Rathwa and Ketan Panchal, helped me work on the fundamentals through the low season. My Ranji coaches, Mukund (Parmar) sir and Arvind sir, have been additionally very supportive.

As for his ambition, “I’m not chasing particular person data, however sure, in the end, I need to play Test cricket for India.”