Three months ago, Shivam Mavi was busy preparing for his elder sister’s marriage. Unlike most youngsters with an eight-figure IPL contract, Mavi prefers to keep things simple. For him, his sister’s wedding and future investments took priority. The only lavish expenditure has been a “choti gaadi” as he focussed on planning for the road ahead.
“Didi ki shaadi hui hai teen mahine pehle, wo sab dekhna tha and then investments karni thi for future. Wo zyaada zaruri tha. Abhi tak koi badi cheez nahi li hai and gaadi bhi ek hi choti hai. Ab luga badi gaadi but abhi tak socha nahi tha is sab ke baare mai,” says Mavi, who has a Rs 6 crore IPL contract with Gujarat Titans.
The seamer rose to fame with his heroics in the 2018 U-19 World Cup but had to wait a long time to take the next step as constant injuries derailed his journey. Two stress fractures in 2019 didn’t allow him the game time he would have liked but the 24-year-old, now back to full fitness, is covering up for lost time with a solid all-format show.
The 2022-23 domestic season was an encouraging one for the youngster who played all three formats for Uttar Pradesh and gave a good account of his fitness in both shorter and longer formats. In seven Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy fixtures, Mavi picked 10 wickets and improved his numbers in Vijay Hazare Trophy where he picked 14 wickets. He played four Ranji Trophy fixtures and picked 19 wickets. More importantly, he bowled over 100 overs during the red-ball season.
An hour before he was picked in India’s squad for the Asian Games, Mavi spoke at length about his battle with injuries, becoming more aware of his body and workload, the time on the bench with Gujarat Titans and more. Excerpts:
How crucial was the 2022-23 season where you played all three formats in the domestic circuit and gave a good account of your match fitness?
It has been very useful and helpful. There is a possibility of a thought coming in selectors’ minds on a bowler’s fitness if he doesn’t play all formats. They could think that this bowler is not match fit and could get injured. If I look back at my career 2-3 years before, I used to get injured very often because I didn’t know how to manage the workload. Obviously, when you play for your state, they push you to bowl more. Later when I got more aware of my body, I decided to cut down on my bowling in the nets and focus on match bowling more. For a multi-day match, it’s important to monitor the workload. You can’t afford to bowl long spells in the nets because you have to anyway bowl more during the match.
Did the multiple bouts with injuries make you more aware of the importance of workload?
It is very important. One has to prioritise quality over quantity. Aapko khud dekhna hai ki kis jagah zyaada zor lagana hai. You can take it easy in the nets but match mai zor lagana padega. You can’t compromise in a match because you have to pick wickets and make the team win. There are occasions where coaches push you to go hard in the nets but that we can do while trying a particular thing. A batter can afford to stand and bat 2-2.5 hours in the nets but a bowler carries the risk of getting injured if he bowls so much. You have to do quality bowling in the nets before a game and also keep the format in mind. If you are playing a T20, go for say 5 overs – full throttle – in the nets. For a 50-over game, I look at quality 6-7 overs in the nets and then add 2-3 more overs for a multi-day game. If you are bowling 20 overs in a match doesn’t mean you have to bowl those many in the nets. The body will react in a different manner then.
What were your learnings during that period away from the game?
When you get ahead in your journey, you meet a lot of people who share their experiences and learnings. Especially, when you are battling an injury. I have been picking things which have been useful in my journey. I used to discuss with my seniors about bowling and managing workload for the longer formats, which phase of the game needs more effort when it swings more and other things.
KKR backed you during that period and continued to do so even when you were undergoing rehab.
KKR gave me a platform. U-19 ke baad gap ho jaata to kaafi problem ho jaati. KKR picked me right after the U-19 World Cup and took a lot of care of me even during injury. Thanks to KKR for supporting me and then giving me a stage to perform. These small-small things are very important in life.
It would have been a really difficult period to not play and watch your teammates on TV.
It was a very irritating time. I was out for close to six months due to a stress fracture in the back. When I returned, after two months there was a Ranji Trophy match. In the first match of the Ranji Trophy, I again got a stress fracture in the back. It then again took me six months to return. In those situations, it is important to keep yourself motivated. I used to keep it light during those times and diverted my mind by watching a lot of movies and speaking to friends. At NCA, other players undergoing rehab used to be a good company.
What happened after you regained fitness? Were any changes made to your bowling action?
I didn’t do anything different and kept my basics right. No change just resumed normal bowling. When you bowl after a long time, the action doesn’t come naturally so it takes some time to get into the rhythm. It takes some time for it to return to your muscle memory.
You didn’t undergo back surgery for the fracture so how did you manage to regain full fitness? Changes made to the workout schedule and patterns?
There wasn’t any change so to say. During the injury, I used to follow what my physios used to advise and avoided the exercises which they asked me to avoid. When I regained fitness, my workload slowly increased and I improved my strength. My running also gradually increased.
For a youngster like you, how important was the financial bit falling into place? Does it help to be financially sorted while playing cricket?
Yes, obviously it’s very important to have some sort of financial stability. To be very honest, I never thought that I would get so much money. For me, it’s like going to the border and then keep learning new things. Jaise hum Sarhad pe jaate hai na and sochte hai aaj ye nayi cheez aa gayi ladai ke liye. I kept my focus more on that and on adding new things to my bowling. Something which would help me pick wickets and then help the team win. I kept trying those new things and included them in my bowling.
And what kind of role does family play?
My family has supported me a lot right from the start. They have never said no to me for anything. Jab paise nahi bhi the, unhone us time bhi bahut support kiya hai. They used to say bas tu mehnat kar, baaki chinta mat kar. I always believed in myself and backed myself in every situation – may it be during injuries or other situations. I always look at achieving the targets I set for myself. There will be occasions where one feels like giving up, but agar give up nahi karoge to wo cheez humesha tumhe milegi.
Gujarat Titans picked you for Rs 6 crore in the auction but you warmed the bench for the entire season…
Mai to apna accha bowling kar raha tha but I didn’t get to play a single game. From my end, I was 110% fit and was consistently bowling in the nets. I used to talk to the management and they did tell me to stay ready. That’s all I could do – ensure my preparations are right and I am ready for every match.
The road ahead features a packed calendar with a lot of multi-nation tournaments. You are on the radar, what do you make of it?
I treat every match as an opportunity. In today’s time, every match has become important. Virat bhai 2-3 match nahi karte to log unke bhi peeche lag jaate hai. Ye to run nahi kar raha, ye to wo ho gaya hai, ye ho gaya hai. Such a big example is in front of you. So one needs to be on top of their game in every opportunity which comes their way. I don’t take extra pressure because of this but treat it like an opportunity.
And how was it to lead Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy?
It was a very good experience to lead the Central Zone team. I did ask my teammates and they gave me positive feedback on my captaincy. I have been Vice-Captain of my Ranji Trophy team in the past and have also led U-19 teams. Even selectors, who watched the game, told me that I handled everything well. Batting thodi upar, neeche raha to qualify nahi kar paaye final ke liye.
Comments
0 comment