Once A Teammate Of Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mumbai-Born Batter Aims To Make It Big Through ISPL

The ongoing second edition of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) is making new headlines everyday. From nail-biting run chases to mind blowing knocks, this league is delivering as per the expectations. With the backing of big names like Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and others, ISPL T10 tournament is one of the biggest opportunities for the budding players to make their cricketing dream come true. After the immense success of the first season, the second edition is also on the verge of it's business end. 

On Sunday, Majhi Mumbai sealed the top spot in the points table with a 24-run victory over Chennai Singams. As Mumbai will now face Falcon Risers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 1 match on Wednesday, Chennai bowed out of the tournament.

Despite being on the losing side, this journey was a memorable one for Chennai captain Sumeet Dhekale. With 185 runs in 10 games, Sumeet is currently the fifth highest run-scorer of the season.

Sumit Dhekale impressed everyone with his leadership skills last year, and Singams retained the Mumbaikar using the Right to Match card for INR 10.10 lakh. 

Interestingly, this is not the beginning of the cricketing journey for Sumeet. The 36-year-old Dhekale has also featured in the T20 Mumbai for North Mumbai Panthers with the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Yashswi Jaiswal, Pravin Tambe, Swapnil Salvi, Vikrant Auti and Sairaj Patil among his teammates. He was part of the team when they lifted the title in 2019.

"Ajinkya Rahane is a very down to earth person. He treats every player equally and always ready to help everyone. Even before playing the ISPL, I spoke to him and took some guidance. He told me to be expressive on the field and not to worry about the results," Sumeet told NDTV. 

"When we were playing the T20 Mumbai, both Yashasvi and Prithvi were U19. Prithvi had came came after playing for India and even shared some valuable batting tips with me," he added.

On the importance of ISPL, Sumeet called the T10 tournament an IPL for the budding cricketers.

"ISPL is playing an important role in the life of a tennis ball cricketer. Earlier, whatever tournaments we have played, they were played on the streets with a prize money of Rs 1 lakh. Apart from this, there was no such fame with it. ISPL has given us huge limelight. This tournament is like IPL for all of us," said Sumeet. 

Even in the last league stage match of the second season, Sumeet gave his sweat and blood for Chennai but his side succumbed against the dominating Mumbai. 

Electing to field after winning the toss, Chennai were left to rue their decision as Mumbai piled on a mammoth total of 122 for 3 in their 10 overs. In reply, the Singams could only manage to post 98 for 6.