In late 2019, Yash Rathod was in the running for an India Under-19 spot, but didn't make the World Cup squad. As he was looking to overcome that disappointment, Covid hit. It set Rathod back for two years, but he wasn't to be denied. When he was finally picked by Vidarbha in 2021, he was going to live the dream.
Now into only his second full season in first-class cricket, Rathod is Vidarbha's highest run-getter heading into the Ranji Trophy semi-final. The impressive aspect of his 728 runs that have come at 52 is his conversion rate: he has crossed 50 six times this season and gone on to make four hundreds. Three of those have come back-to-back, two in rescue acts: from 4 for 3 against Puducherry and 64 for 3 against Uttarakhand.
"Ahead of this season, I was looking to convert my starts into three-figure scores," Rathod told ESPNcricinfo. In last week's quarter-final against Tamil Nadu, he came in to bat at 61 for 3 in the second innings. While Vidarbha had a 128-run lead to play with, his dismissal could have made things challenging. His 112 quashed those fears.
"I knew if I had to go the next level, it is the hundreds and not the half-centuries that are going to matter," he said. "So I entered the season with the idea that if I cross 50, then I need to convert it into a century."
Rathod analysed his batting in the off-season with Vidarbha coach Usman Ghani. He had made 490 runs at an average of 49 in Vidarbha's run to the Ranji final in 2023-24. These are decent numbers for someone starting out, but looking back, Rathod lamented at his inability to convert scores of 71, 81 and 93 into bigger ones. "It's so much better that I have more hundreds this season," he said.
Rathod's struggles to break through have made him value his starts a lot more. His journey has been challenging. When cricket resumed after Covid, Rathod scored 36 and 6 in the two games he featured in at the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But Vidarbha ended with five losses out of five, and Rathod hasn't played a T20 again.
In February 2021, things appeared a lot brighter when he scored 117 at better than a run-a-ball in his first List A innings for Vidarbha. But because they didn't make the knockouts, the next time Rathod played was ten months later in December that year.
When the Ranji Trophy did return for the 2021-22 season, Rathod wasn't an automatic pick. "I was the 12th man in all three games," he recalled. "It was a packed side, and it was really difficult to find a place [in the XI]."
Then when he had a chance, Rathod suffered a shoulder injury that meant more time on the sidelines. Eventually, in January 2023, Rathod made his first-class debut, but it wasn't as memorable as he had hoped it would be, with three innings fetching him just 55 runs.
But with Vidarbha slowly transitioning with the retirements and exits of senior players like Faiz Fazal and Ganesh Satish, Rathod found a place. "You'll face challenges every moment. So you'll have to give your best every day, and in every session," he said. "You'll have to play with the same intensity so that the game doesn't drift away from you."
Rathod prides himself on a solid game, with simplicity and timing at the forefront. Some of these lessons he has absorbed over time from chats with Karun Nair, who has become an integral part of the Vidarbha set-up over the past two seasons.
"I have asked him about his mindset, how he approaches a game, and how he plays certain situations," Rathod said. "I have tried to understand how he bats so freely and easily without taking any risks. In terms of skill, I have asked him how he adjusts to certain things - like when the ball is seaming or swinging."
During the ongoing season, Rathod has proven that his game isn't one-dimensional.
Just last week, with the No. 11 for company against Tamil Nadu, he showed power and creativity. Like when he got across the stumps and stayed deep in the crease to punch M Mohammed to the point fence with two men back. Or when he shaped to scoop the bowler, but made last-second adjustments to end up reverse-scooping him over the keeper's head.
Those shots showcased his short-format chops. He hit 406 runs, with two centuries, at a strike of rate of 95 during Vidarbha's run to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Asked if the wait to become a T20 regular was frustrating, Rathod says he was happy to wait.
For now, there's a Ranji semi-final against Mumbai to look forward to - a rematch of last year's final when Rathod had missed out by scoring just 27 and 7. A big knock and a ticket to the final is on the agenda of this Gautam Gambhir fan, who hopes to emulate that Napier classic one day: "One of my favourite innings."