Built to wait, ready to rise: The Yash Rathod story

Yash Rathod dug in for a gritty 80 alongside Shams Mulani, helping India-A hold firm against Australia A in a tense rear-guard effort . | Photo Credit: M PERIASAMY

Yash Rathod was in the middle of a pre-season game in early September, representing Vidarbha in the KSCA Invitational tournament. He was padded up and waiting for play to resume after the tea break when his mobile phone erupted with WhatsApp notifications.

He had been called up to the India-A squad to face Australia-A in Puducherry, and questions that had haunted him for the past year were finally put to rest. The call-up had eluded him in 2025, despite racking up 960 runs for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy the previous season.

“To be very honest, I was expecting this call-up. Every player performs because they ultimately want to play for India. India-A and Duleep Trophy are the first steps to get there,” Rathod told Sportstar.

“Yes, initially I was disappointed about not getting picked [last year]. But then you think about it, you realise the selectors’ process is not in your control. So I just had to focus on my batting and wait for that opportunity. That is what I have done all my career.”

In 2025-26, Rathod averaged a whopping 107 in the Ranji Trophy, in a run-haul that would have swelled well past 645 had Vidarbha not missed out on qualification for the knockouts by the barest of margins.

But the India-A snub a year earlier was not really a rejection. Rathod was instead handed a chance to test himself in the Duleep Trophy for Central Zone. The middle-order bat duly obliged. In the final, Rathod notched up 194 runs to bat South Zone out of the contest.

In retrospect, that 167-run partnership with an IPL-winning captain has held him in good stead for what came since.

“Rajat [Patidar] bhaiyaa and I played together, and our bonding was very good. He is like an elder brother to me. He made me realise that you have to be intense in your preparation. That is the only aspect in a batter’s control. In the match, your reactions will take over. After that, whatever happens, happens,” Rathod said.

Luckily for Rathod, he’s always had a mentor at hand as he has made strides through his cricketing journey. The most influential figure has been Usman Ghani, who now coaches Rathod with the senior team, but has trained him since Under-14 cricket.

It was Ghani who nudged Rathod towards the Under-23 side after he had missed out on the probables for the India Under-19 squad for the World Cup in 2020.

“He was picked for an Under-19 tour to Sri Lanka in 2018, but was not in the reckoning for the World Cup. I don’t really know what happened there. When I came [with the Vidarbha Under-23 team], he was not in the scheme of things. I knew his talent. I asked him to play in the trial match and get just one decent score. I had been with him since his Under-14 days, and I knew the talent he had,” Ghani said.

Once he was in, there was no looking back. In his first season in 2019-20, Rathod was the third-highest run-scorer in the CK Nayudu Trophy with 555 runs from 15 innings. Two years later, he was more prolific, topping the charts with 611 runs from 11 innings.

Breaking into the Ranji Trophy team in 2022/23 was an obvious progression, and it also brought Rathod another confidant in Akshay Wadkar, the captain.

He made his debut in 2023, but established seniors in the middle order meant Rathod had to wait another year for a regular place in the XI. His 55 runs in three innings did not really make a great case either.

Rathod recalled Wadkar giving him an early indication of what his second chance would mean for his standing in the squad.

“He spoke to me with a lot of clarity. He said, ‘I will give you four innings. I can understand that the first two innings you might be under pressure. But you have two more after that. If you perform, you are getting a long rope’. He said this in 2023-24 when we lost the final. He knew my capability. But ultimately even the captain has some restrictions; if you are backing someone, then you can only back them to a certain level,” Rathod said.

He scored 81 in the first of those four innings, against Rajasthan, then got six straight games in Vidarbha’s run to the final. He notched up 93 against Karnataka in the quarterfinal and another 141 against Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal.

“I had negative thoughts [in the initial games in Ranji Trophy] because when you represent a State which has already won two titles, it’s so important that you perform. Otherwise, you will have to go through the same process again – play league matches, make your place again, wait for the opportunity again. So, the pressure and negative thoughts were mostly from the fear of failure,” Rathod said.

It is a fear that must have gripped him during the series against Australia-A as well, after he had squandered three chances. Each time the team needed him, he paid his dues, negotiating the early jitters on a tricky surface. Yet each time, a lapse cost him.

But after scores of 1, 12, and 15, Rathod finally vindicated himself with an 80 on the final day of the series, salvaging an improbable draw for India-A. His 221-minute innings was front and centre of the host’s late escape, where it batted out nearly 35 overs and denied Australia-A three wickets in the final session.

“Focussing on the process” and “controlling the controllables” are phrases used ad nauseam in Indian cricket. But they hold merit for Rathod, who has fallen back on these simple beliefs throughout his still fledgling career.

“At a subconscious level, you keep expectations from yourself. Even if you don’t want to. But going into this series, I think of it simply as, ‘I have to do what I have been doing all my life’. Zyada se zyada kya hoga, nahi hoga. I just want to give my 100 per cent to my process.

“Over the years, I think the change that I have seen is that my belief system has become stronger. After we lost to Mumbai, I sat down and analysed and figured that if you have a weak belief system, you get nervous. So, your attitude and your playing motions change. Now, I have worked on backing myself in any situation, believing that I will win the match,” Rathod said.

An 81 against Rajasthan two years ago came as a lifeline for his Ranji aspirations. His 80 now is bound to have caught the selectors’ attention, who will again be filling out an India-A roster for the shadow tour to New Zealand.

The Test regulars might take up a few slots in that three-match series to acclimatise to the conditions, but just boarding the plane to New Zealand will be a massive leap for Rathod. Ghani, ever the mentor, was already finding areas for Rathod to polish further for New Zealand, even before he’d faced a ball against Australia-A.

“He’s a bit of a late starter. If he gets settled, he’ll get big runs. So, I always tell him to negotiate the new ball; that’s very important. If you want to play international cricket, you have to enhance your skills, especially in the fourth-stump line. That is an area of uncertainty for all, even the greatest batters,” Ghani said.

Having endured the tough initiation, Ghani was confident his “happy-go-lucky” ward would eventually carve out his path.

“Rathod is a bit of a touch player, but he’s hungry for runs. He’ll get there,” he said.

Published on Oct 03, 2026

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