Gaurav Upadhyaya included for Buchi Babu Tourney

NAGPUR: When he was playing junior cricket, Gaurav Upadhyaya was once tipped as one of future players for Vidarbha. The southpaw has led Vidarbha to title victory in Under-19 Cooch Behar Plate Group Trophy in 2006—their lone BCCI trophy so far. Somehow his transformation from a boy to man wasn’t that smooth as compared to other Vidarbha players. Time and again, he needed to prove himself.
Despite a decent allround performance in the ongoing MN Dorairajan three-day Trophy, Upadhayaya couldn't find the place in Vidarbha squad for the All India Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. It was only after Azhar Sheikh's withdrawal due to personal reasons, Upadhyaya was included in the squad. The 24-year-old justified his inclusion with a magnificent 333 (250b, 16x6, 23x4) against Indian Gymkhana. The Indian Gymkhana attack is nowhere once it used to be, still one can't take any credit away from Upadhyaya, who toyed with the bowling to help Ruby Sporting Club amass a massive 586 for 7 in just 111.5 overs.
Upadhyaya's 333 is the highest individual score in the tournament history, surpassing Shalabh Shrivastava's 287 last year against the same opponent. His triple ton is also the highest ever individual score in the senior category in the VCA-organised tournaments.
Over the years, Upadhyaya has scored runs by tons at the local level but somehow couldn't get the long run he deserved. Since he made his debut in 2008 against Assam, Upadhyaya got to play in only three matches.
"He is a match-winner, just like Yuvraj Singh. Even Yuvraj took some time to mature. He was given long run to show his potential. Gaurav has consistently won matches at local and junior level on his own. He is an aggressive player. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes not. If he is given more confidence, Gaurav can do wonders," ex-Vidarbha coach Sulakshan Kulkarni told TOI.
"Stroke players should be allowed to play their natural game. In Mumbai, we give that freedom to Suryakumar Yadav. We call him 'free bird'. Some of his dismissals were bizarre but we always encourage him to trust his instincts. In his debut season, he has scored more than 1000 runs and now he is in the India 'A' squad. Gaurav comes under the same category. He hasn't been given proper chances in the longer format. He will only improve by playing," Kulkarni, now a Mumbai coach, said.