India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane believes Pranav Dhanawade, who smashed an unbeaten 1,009 in the HT Bhandari Cup inter- school tournament, will soon don the blue.
India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane believes Pranav Dhanawade, who smashed an unbeaten 1,009 in the HT Bhandari Cup inter- school tournament, will soon don the blue.
Pranav, son of an auto rickhaw driver in Kalyan (in Thane District, few kilometres outside the Maximum City), achieved the feat in 323 deliveries with 129 fours and 59 sixes for KC Gandhi School against Arya Gurukul School.
“As a Mumbaikar, I want to congratulate Pranav. I am proud of him. I am sure he will do better and then, come and play with us,” said Rahane, few hours before flying to Australia for an ODI and T20 series.
“Batting for one-and-a half days is no joke, one requires immense concentration and focus; pronouncing 1,009 itself takes so much time, imagine scoring them,” added the 27-year-old.
Rahane dismissed all criticism and confusion regarding the nature of wicket, the quality of the tournament and opponents. “Listen, the number in question (1,009) is the amount of runs one can score in a season. This 15-year-old kid hit the same in an innings. A record is a record,” he said stressing on the importance of concentration.
Pranav Must Be a special kid: MSD
Skipper M.S. Dhoni on Tuesday lauded the efforts of Pranav and said scoring that many runs is no hoax. “It is serious business. Now, there will be comparisons. Pranav has to compete with other individuals of his age but it is also
the right time for his coaches, parents to back him.” “This should be taken as the first step. He must be a special kid,” said Dhoni
“The fact that he is hitting the sixes means he is calculating his batting,” he added.The 34-year-old said: “I would have been bored had I had to bat for so long.”
