Yash Thakur's untold story: Karate, rejections, father's dream and India's newest pace hope
NEW DELHI: Zimbabwe has become India's preferred destination to bring in young talent. Just like in 2024, when Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sai Sudharsan and Tushar Deshpande received their maiden India caps, this year's tour also saw Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur make their T20I debuts. The series also marked the return of Mayank Yadav after a long injury layoff.Ahead of the tour, the spotlight was firmly on Mayank and Ashok, both known to consistently bowling over 150 kmph. Thakur, however, was hardly part of the conversation. The Vidarbha pacer had quietly gone about his business, staying away from the hype surrounding India's new generation of fast bowlers.Why Yash Thakur?Among the current crop of young pacers featuring Mayank, Ashok and Gurnoor Brar, who was fast-tracked into the Indian side, Thakur's inclusion surprised many.Zimbabwe has long been India's platform to test young cricketers. It is where youngsters get opportunities to prove themselves, and those who perform often strengthen their claim for a permanent place in the side. This time, Thakur grabbed that opportunity with both hands.Despite receiving far less attention than many of the cricketer, he quietly continued doing the hard work.Thakur began the series on the bench as Ashok was preferred for the opening T20I. But when his long-awaited opportunity came in the second match, he made an immediate impact.The 27-year-old pacer, who had hardly been spoken about before the tour, surprised many by clocking 140 kmph with his very first delivery in international cricket.He consistently bowled hard lengths and back-of-a-length deliveries to return figures of 4-0-30-2 on debut. He retained his place for the third and final T20I and impressed once again, finishing with figures of 4-0-45-2.A reward for patienceAt 27, Thakur had to wait much longer than most to wear the India jersey. His biggest strength was his single-minded focus. He never allowed rejection to affect him and remained patient despite repeatedly being overlooked. He always believed his opportunity would arrive one day.When it finally did, he made sure he made the most of it.Thakur, who was part of India's victorious 2016 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup squad and picked up nine wickets during the tournament, also faced plenty of disappointments before finally earning his India cap at the age of 27.He missed out on the Under-19 World Cup. He was never considered a prodigy or fast-tracked into the senior side. Instead, he kept working hard and steadily built his career through domestic cricket.He made his List A debut for Vidarbha in 2017 before making his first-class and T20 debuts over the next two seasons.His domestic breakthrough came in the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he finished as the tournament's highest wicket-taker with 18 wickets in seven matches. He also played a key role in Vidarbha's Irani Cup triumph in 2025.While his parents worried about the setbacks, Thakur never lost sight of his goal.That's his story."Under 16 ka competion tha. He didn't get a single mtch in the tournametn. As a parent we all were upset and were talking about why is he not taking chance despite being in top form. But when he came, we asked him, he silently went inside the room saying 'mai aur mehnat karunga'. Such is the person he is. He is very calm and silently he waited for his opportunity. May be this quality in his has got him the reward," Yash's mother Kajal Thakur told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview."Rejections mili usko but wo mehnat karna rha. Bhagwaan kuch achha socha tha uske liye. This is just a beginning for him I know. He is a guy who keeps his head down and keeps working hard. I am so proud of him," the mother said.From Karate to CricketBefore making a name as a fast bowler for India and in the IPL, Thakur's sporting journey could have taken a completely different path.His father, Ravi Singh Thakur, was a state-level Karate champion and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Thakur did well in the sport too, winning medals at junior-level competitions. But his mother, Kajal, was never comfortable seeing her son compete in a combat sport. Like most mothers, she constantly worried about injuries. Eventually, her concerns led Yash away from Karate and towards cricket."In one tournament happened in Solapur. He kicked his opponent on his nose during a match and he started bleeding. That really worried me. What if Yash would have been at that kid's place. I had to argue with his father multiple times and somehow I managed to take Yash away from Karate," he said.'Dhoni ke jaise keeper banna hai'While his parents debated his future, Yash had already made up his mind.He wanted to become a cricketer.From the terrace of his house, he would spend hours watching children train at a nearby cricket academy. He watched batters play big shots, bowlers celebrate wickets and wicketkeepers dive behind the stumps. Every day, he stood there imagining himself on that ground.The day he finally quit Karate, he went straight to his father with one request: "mujhe wo academy join karwa do, cricket khelunga."That decision changed his life.Soon, Yash joined the Praveen Hinganikar Cricket Academy (PHCA) in Nagpur, where he came under the guidance of coach Praveen Hinganikar."Mai puch usse kya banna chahte ho.. he replied Dhoni ki tarah wicketkeeper batter," Hinganikar recalled.Yash was just 10 years old when he joined the academy. For the first few months, he trained only as a wicketkeeper.Then came one practice session that completely altered the course of his career."There were no bowlers in the nets. I asked him to bowl. The moment I saw him bowling, I told him, 'Abb keeping gloves nahi pehenna hai, you start bowling'," Hinganikar recalled.The decision was difficult for the young Yash to accept."He was upset for almost a month because he wanted to be a wicketkeeper. But his father stood firmly behind me. He told Yash, 'Whatever Praveen Sir says, you have to do it.' That support made all the difference," the coach said.The transformationCoach Hinganikar quickly realised that Thakur had something special in his bowling action. But before he could become a genuine fast bowler, there was one major challenge - his fitness.The youngster was overweight, and the first step was to transform his body.Rigorous fitness sessions, long-distance running, sprint drills and a strict diet became part of his daily routine. Only after improving his fitness did the focus shift completely to his run-up and bowling. Under trainer Prashant's guidance, Thakur underwent a remarkable transformation, shedding the extra weight within a year.By the age of 14, the chubby youngster had turned into a fit and athletic fast bowler."He is totally different from everyone. He has his own class. He can bowl six yorkers in an over," Hinganikar said."Now he has lost fat, he has all the muscles over bones. He is more stronger now. You ask him to bowl 7-8 overs on the trot, he can do that easily. He looks like he might not be intemedidating to the batters, but looks are deceptibve. He is a wonderful bowler. He can deceive batters with his slower ones and slow yorkers and yorkers too," the coach said.A father's dreamStanding behind Thakur throughout his journey was his father, Ravi Singh Thakur.From dropping him at the academy and picking him up after practice to managing his diet and buying cricket equipment, Ravi did everything possible to help his son chase his dream.But he had a dream of his own too to one day see his son play for India.That dream finally came true when the 27-year-old made his India debut against Zimbabwe. The Vidarbha pacer featured in two T20Is and picked up four wickets in his first international assignment.Sadly, the man who had dreamt of that moment was not there to witness it.His father passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023.Today, Thakur has fulfilled his father's dream, while his mother continues to live that dream through her son.Before leaving for the Zimbabwe tour, Thakur had told TimesofIndia.com:"Ye papa ka hi dream tha. Aur main unke liye bahut grateful hoon kyunki day one se jab tak woh the, he always supported me and dekhna chahte the mujhe India jersey mein. Aaj wo hote to bahot khush hote [t was my father's dream. I am very grateful to him because from day one, until he was with us, he always supported me. If he were here today, he would have been extremely happy]."The emotional callAfter returning from the India A tour of Sri Lanka, Thakur landed at Nagpur airport when he received the call informing him of his India selection.The first person he called was his mother."I was numb over phone when he called me and gave the news of his debut. He kept saying hello! hello! over phone, but I couldn't speak. When he came home from Sri Lanka, I just hugged him. He folded his hands in front of his father's photo and went inside his room," the mother said.She also remembered how determined her husband had been to see Yash wear the India jersey."Inke father mein joonoon tha sports ko leke. Wo khud Karate karte they. isko bhi banana chahte they. Jab cricket mein shift hua to wo ye kehte they ki jo mai nkhud nahi kar paya country ke liye, mai chanta hun Yash kare wo ek din - India khele," she said.The debutA day before his debut, Yash called his mother with a simple message."Mummy, kal aap dekhna mere match."Those few words were enough to leave her emotional.The next day, she sat in front of the television, watching her son receive his India cap before claiming his first international wicket.At that moment, she looked at her husband's photograph and quietly said:"Dekho, ab aapka bachcha aaj India cap wear kar gaya hai.""Maine kisi ko nahi bulaya tha. I was alone and started watchign the match. Bas khushi ke aansu they. Kaash wo hote, to aaj bahot khush hote. Some people came they said, why I didn't go to Zimbabwe to watch, I said pehla match hai. Aage bahot mauke ayenge," the mother said.
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