Virat Kohli urged me to give 200% for Delhi: Ayush Doseja

Delhi’s Ayush Doseja aims to follow the discipline and fitness regime of Indian superstar Virat Kohli, as the 23-year-old finished the group stage of the Ranji Trophy with the highest individual run tally. Doseja, who made his Ranji Trophy debut against Hyderabad earlier this season, finished with 949 runs in seven matches at 105.44 with four centuries and five fifties. He stood tall amid a disappointing show from Delhi, who finished seventh in the eight-team points table for Group D without a win, six draws and one defeat.

“I have been idolising him since childhood. When he was out in the second match (of the Vijay Hazare Trophy), I got some time to talk to him,” Doseja told reporters after his unbeaten 159 helped Delhi force a draw against Mumbai here. “He told me that if I am going to the ground, I have to give 200 per cent because you are representing Delhi, and it is a big deal. If I want to play for India, I have to keep the same mindset.

“(He said) ‘If you are going to the ground, you have to dominate and not play in survival mode.’ This was the message, and I followed his fitness regime a lot and spoke about it as well. I also try to keep a good diet and keep myself match-fit as much as possible,” Doseja added. In his first season itself, Doseja was made the Delhi captain for the clash against Mumbai, once a storied rivalry in Ranji Trophy, for this contest, as Ayush Badoni was summoned to the India A side for the T20 World Cup warm-ups.

“It’s a big deal for me. I was getting an opportunity for the first time as a captain to lead Delhi and (against) Mumbai, it’s always big,” he said. “Coming into their second innings, I though that even though I fell early in the first, it was a good ball and I accepted my failure. I thought it was going to be the last innings of the season, and I did not want to miss the opportunity.” Having finished the group stage as the leading run-scorer in the Elite category, Doseja said he did not come into the season with such a target in mind.

“The achievement is good. But I had never thought that I would make so many runs. I just believed in my hard work. My family and coaches support me a lot. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity whenever I got a call-up for Delhi. I am very happy that I finished first in the league stage,” he said. While he narrowly missed the 1,000-run mark, Doseja said it was never in his mind during the second innings against Mumbai here at the MCA-BKC Ground.

“No, it was not in my mind. I wanted to save the match for the team,” Doseja said, adding that he rates this century as his best since it came against Mumbai. “I knew that (the tally) was 790 before the match. But we had spoken with the Mumbai team that we would shake hands at tea. If they wanted wickets, they would have attacked with fast bowlers, but they also kept it normal post lunch, so we shook hands,” he said. Doseja added he sought some time to discuss cricket with India and Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan.

“I went to him myself. Sarfaraz is such a big player in domestic cricket, and I asked him how I can improve in red soil. I try to become a three-format player. I prepare equally in white-ball,” he said. “He told me that in red soil, if you bat with your head down, it will be better (and that way) you would hit fewer casual shots because it bounces. He said I could vary my game in red soil and black soil, but that I have to see in the middle,” Doseja added.