Saxena eager to make the most of limited opportunities

Three years ago, Divyaansh Saxena made his First Class debut for Mumbai. Since then, he has played just three matches. Runs elsewhere did little to change his fortunes as a place in Mumbai’s crowded batting line-up remained elusive.

Several of his India under-19 World Cup teammates, including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, had meanwhile moved on to bigger stages.

Now, at 25, Saxena has another chance. Ayush Mhatre’s injury and Jaiswal’s India call-up have opened the door for Saxena. “Among the batters from my under-19 batch, Tilak and many are playing in the IPL and for India. I always believed that I was capable too. It was just about getting the right opportunities and performing when those chances came,” Saxena said.

“Of course, it was very frustrating for three or four years. I wasn’t getting chances despite scoring runs. But that opportunity has finally come, and now I am thinking about how I can make the best use of it.”

His returns this season have been meagre — nine against Himachal Pradesh, 10 against Haryana and an unbeaten 30. The latter came in a modest chase on a turning track, where he partnered Angkrish Raghuvanshi to guide Mumbai to a bonus-point win.

Sandeep Patil, Mumbai’s mentor, has urged him to make starts count.

“He keeps reminding me that it is okay if you miss out in one or two innings. But whenever you get a start, you should go out there and score a big hundred, a daddy hundred,” Saxena said.