28 year old all-rounder Divyang Hinganekar has been a regular player for Maharashtra in white ball tournaments and has also made his way to the Ranji trophy side after 5 years of hard work. Now with the Indian Premier League mega auction coming up, he has his sights set on playing the IPL.
In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Divyang Hinganekar talks about his idols, his best performance, his love for Royal Challengers Bangalore and his future goals. He also gives an insight on the impact Kedar Jadhav and other senior players have on the Maharashtra team and also the opponent that troubled him the most.
Q 1) How old were you when you first started playing cricket and what got you interested in it?
I loved playing cricket since I was a kid and played all through my school days but it wasn't until I finished 12th standard that I decided to pursue professional cricket. I loved watching cricket as well and everyone who was representing India at the time was an idol for me like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and especially Rahul Dravid who was my favourite.
Q 2) In your opinion what has been your best performance so far for Maharashtra?
My best performance was in a T20 match against Gujrat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I scored an unbeaten 35 runs and helped my team win the game.
Q 3) Who is the toughest player that you have faced in the domestic circuit?
That’s a difficult one, one of them is my teammate right now. Ruturaj Gaikwad is the toughest batsman to bowl to, according to me. With regards to bowlers, I have faced a few of them and T. Natarajan is quite difficult to play against.
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Q 4) In the Maharashtra team how beneficial is it to have someone like Kedar Jadhav who has played international cricket for a long time?
It’s a big advantage for a team to have players like Kedar Jadhav, Rahul Tripathi, Ankit Bawne, Ruturaj Gaikwad because of the experience that they have. Kedar Jadhav has been playing for India for the past six years or so and the experience that they give to the team and their advice is very beneficial. It has helped other players grow, play freely and overall it’s very helpful.
Q 5) Which franchise would you like to play for in the upcoming IPL?
I have always wanted to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore since the start of the Indian Premier League. Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli are one of the main reasons why I want to play for the team. Jacques Kallis has also been an idol for me since he was an all-rounder and I want to follow in his footsteps.
Q 6) What are your future ambitions and what steps are you taking to achieve them?
I have been working on improving my skills which will help me grow as a cricketer. My dream would be to represent team India and for now I want to be featured in the IPL. I was out of the team two years ago and it was very challenging to come back into the competition. After playing five years in the shorter formats of the game I finally made my debut in the Ranji Trophy.
