Maharashtra pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar set to rule after putting dad’s death behind

Rajvardhan Hangargekar bowls under coach Mohan Jadhav’s guidance at Lohegaon, Pune, recently

When Rajvardhan Hangargekar made it to the India U-19 squad for the Asia Cup, beginning from December 23, all that the Maharashtra pacer could think of was his late father Subhash, 51.

Hangargekar Sr passed away last year in June due to Covid-19. "My dad always encouraged me to play cricket. He supported me immensely from my childhood. His dream was to see me play for India. It is really tough to live without him, but I have come to terms with the fact that he is no longer with me. That has helped me to move on and concentrate on my job," Hangargekar told mid-day from Bangalore, where he is undergoing an intense camp before the squad flies to the UAE.

All-round show

Hangargekar claimed 19 wickets from eight games and scored 216 runs in the U-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy in September-October. While representing India ‘C', he picked up four and three wickets in the U-19 Challenger Trophy and U-19 Triangular Series respectively.

Interestingly, Hangargekar became a pacer by accident. He used to bowl off-spin for the Osmanabad district U-14 team, but since his team were struggling for a fast bowler, Hangargekar took to pace bowling. He prospered under coach Mohan Jadhav in Pune and trainer-cum-mentor Tejas Matapurkar at the Veerangan Cricket Academy for the last two years.

"I had decent speed, but accuracy and variation were missing. Mohan sir helped me sort out my issues. I used to bowl with a lot of emotion and focussed only on bowling fast, but my coach changed my mindset. He worked on my run-up and that helped me bowl around 140kmph. My aim is to bowl consistently at that speed," said Hangargekar.

He's a quick learner: Coach

Coach Jadhav explained the process behind Hangargekar attaining express speed. "He used to run like a sprinter, so we worked on his run-up. He has a very good in-swinger, yorker and bouncer as well. In the last six months, he has improved his batting too," said Jadhav about his ward who is called Marathwada Express.

However, with speed came injuries. "We had to plan his fitness and training program as well as his bowling schedule. In the last two years, he has bowled around 800 overs in the nets with decent speed," said trainer Matapurkar. "Initially, it was very painful, but whatever I am today is because of Tejas sir's training. He looks after my fitness as well as mental strength," Hangargekar said.