Delhi lad Moksh Murgai dreams to be an India all-rounder, draws inspiration from MS Dhoni

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New Delhi, Sep 8: Team India created history in England with its come-from-behind win in the fourth Test match at the Oval and as it went 2-1 up in the five-match series. Apart from the heroics of the spirited bunch of Indian cricketers, a debate that kept cricket pundits talking was the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing eleven.

Virat Kohli and his band, however, didn't let that impact their performance and Ravindra Jadeja - who has been getting a preference over Ashwin - as the lone-spinner in the side continued playing his role well.

However, a question that kept arising in some minds as to why there are no part-time spinners in this Indian side. Hanuma Vihari - the only part-time spin-bowling batsman in the side - is also warming up the benches on the entire tour as captain Kohli went with the combination of 6 batsmen, including wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and five bowlers.

But if one looks at the grassroots level, the youngsters are trying to hone their skills in more than one department for obvious reasons. All-round skills are in high demand these days in Indian cricket and the demand for quality all-rounders in the cash-rich league like IPL has only made it bigger.

Understanding the perks of being an all-rounder, budding cricketers are focussed at a very young age about honing multiple skills, which will bode them well in the later years.

Moksh Murgai, a budding cricketer from Delhi, during a conversation with MyKhel gave a sneak peek at the way the youth thinks today. Moksh is working towards honing his all-round skills from an early age and believes that will help him gain an edge over his competitors.

Hailing from Delhi's Peetampura, Moksh has played in the U-14, U-16 and U-19 age categories at the national level. The right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler from Delhi has slammed 30-plus centuries, 50-plus half-centuries and picked up 250-plus wickets at the club and other junior-level tournaments.

The 21-year-old cricketer has made some impressive performances playing for Delhi at junior and sub-junior levels and now eyes progression to the senior level. Inspired by former India captain MS Dhoni's batting exploits in the 2000s, Moksh started his career at the age of 7.

Moksh said: "I was inspired watching MS Dhoni bat and the way he won India matches. That was when I decided to become a cricketer. I was constantly backed and supported by my family as well."

MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson are my favourite cricketers because they both are match-winners and always remain calm under tough situations. This quality of these two legends inspires me the most and I too try to remain calm and composed under crunch situations."

He went on playing cricket at Inter-zonal (District) and zonal levels. He grabbed a lot of attention after his all-round performance at the DDCA League 2018-19, where he scored 850-plus runs and picked up 20-plus wickets. Moksh even represented India in the International School Premier League in Lucknow in the 2018-19 season.

He received a sponsorship contract from Meerut-based SH Sports in the 2019-20 season and later for the 2021-22 season, he received a deal from R seven Sports. He was elected as sports president of the Delhi University Students Union for 2019-2020.

Talking about the importance of polishing both his skills, the 21-year-old said, "I have been working on my batting, as well as my bowling so that I can help my team in every capacity. I work very hard in the nets not just on my batting skills, but also spend hours improving my spin bowling. I believe, having both the skills will help me get an edge over others for I would be bringing something extra on the table."

Moksh, who has attended Railways' Ranji Trophy and Under-23 camps in the past, is hopeful that the trials ahead of the upcoming Ranji season will help him draw the attention of the selectors.

"I am confident about my skills with the bat as well as with the ball and will give my best at the U-23 and U-24 camps for that will help me get closer to my dream of playing for a Ranji side. Once that is achieved, my target will be national side and IPL contracts," Moksh said.

He has already faced some challenges in his young age and suffering a serious back injury kept him away from the pitch for long but it was his dedication towards the game never allowed him to quit on his dreams he kept working hard to sharpen his skills.

Moksh has trained under MS Negi - who is the coach of Delhi's U-19 side, and also learnt the minutes of the game from Rohit Mehta - BCCI level-B coach. He is been training at former India cricketer Ashish Nehra's academy in Noida for the last two years.

"I have had some interactions with Ashish Nehra sir at the academy in the last two years. He shared a few tips and tricks with me after watching my stance and all and encouraged me to do well in the matches organised. It has been a good learning curve for me and I aspire to make him and the academy proud," he adds further.