“You’ve got to persevere, keep doing the hard work. Have immense faith in yourself as a person, not just a cricketer,” says Aditya Tare when asked about what it takes to make it into the Mumbai cricket team. And be a part of it, as long as he has. Or even more.
Not many cricket fans can go past Tare without a minute-long retrospection.
Most would remember him as the only man on the planet whose act made Rahul Dravid throw his cap in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium. But when you say this to him you cannot expect anything more than a chuckle out of his respect for a legend of the game.
Hitting a six to complete Mumbai Indians’ unbelievable 190-run chase inside 14.4 overs to qualify for IPL 2014 Playoffs gave Aditya all the spotlight a 26-year old cricketer would want.
But that game and that six are not the only thing that defines Tare. He has now been an integral member of the Mumbai team for more than a decade. He also captained the 41-time Ranji Trophy-winning team to their last glory in 2015/16. More recently, he grabbed the headlines when he scored his first List A century to help his team to win their fourth Hazare Trophy final.
In an innings of 118 runs off 107 deliveries, 33-year-old Tare garnered 18 fours. Sixes were not required in this game. Instead, Tare played a cute dab past backward point to seal the final.
#VijayHazareTrophyCHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/TyCw7zwLJy
— Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) (@MumbaiCricAssoc) March 14, 2021
“The best part about a final is you give it your all. Whatever you have,” he says, reflecting on his Player-of-the-Match-worthy innings.
This wasn’t the first time Tare had played a big innings for Mumbai in the final. In the 2018 edition final, his 71, batting at six, had helped Mumbai outsmart Delhi.
“I was fortunate that I was batting at number three. It’s something I really enjoy, batting at top of the order. And I got that opportunity in the knockouts and I was really happy and excited to bat at number three for Mumbai.”
(Photo: IANS)
It was a big win for Mumbai, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. The win came less than two months after Mumbai were knocked out of India’s domestic T20 competition in the league stage.
The wicketkeeper-batsman credited the incoming coach, Ramesh Powar for the incredible turnaround: “The coach came in and saw that the confidence was low in the team. He challenged us to create a brand of cricket that Mumbai used to produce and that we as a team wanted to produce.”
When we talk about the Mumbai brand of cricket, there’s a rich history to explore.
No team has enjoyed more success in the Indian domestic setup than Mumbai. The city has produced some world-class talents, going back to the Bombay Quadrangular tournament played in pre-independent India.
While making it to the Indian cricket team sounds a heck of a task, featuring in the Mumbai XI has been nothing less than a daunting one either. This highlights the years of experience in Aditya’s CV with the gold glitter.
“Growing up, we thought that playing for Mumbai was ‘the thing’ for any aspiring young cricketer in Mumbai,” he says. “When I was in the U17s, I really thought that breaking into this senior Mumbai team was an impossible task. I wasn’t one of the most talented guys. I wasn’t regarded as the next big thing in Mumbai cricket.”
He didn’t get a call to play for Mumbai in the U15 and U16 categories. Given the fierce competition in Mumbai cricket, rejection at an early age may leave a kid disheartened. The families reevaluate their child’s time investment with the game.
In this story, however, these issues have hardly been existent: “My parents never restricted me from doing so at any point, even if I had to miss a class in school to play cricket, or football as a kid.”
He also mentioned how integral his wife has been in this journey: “She’s been with me since I wasn’t even playing state cricket. We keep talking about everything. All you can talk to your family is how you feel mentally and emotionally.”
Aditya with his daughter, Rabbani and wife, Karishma
Leading Mumbai has been one of the greatest highlights of Tare’s career. He was appointed as the captain following a tough Ranji Trophy campaign in 2014/15. Within a year, Mumbai won the tournament under their new skipper.
As captain, Tare has led an amazing pool of talent including the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur, who played cutting-edge cricket in the recently concluded series against England. When asked, Tare only has big words for the two.
“Both of them are special talents,” he says. “If you talk about Shardul, he’s so committed on the field. Always wants to be part of the action. Whether you give him the first over or the 90th over of the day, he’ll bowl his heart out.”
Aditya then narrated an interesting incident regarding Shardul during the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy: “When he was asked to play for Mumbai, he decided to drive down from Ahmedabad to Jaipur, it was a 12-hour drive. He never complained about it. We had to play the next day and he played with a smile on his face. Even after playing a few years of international cricket for India, he plays with the same excitement for Mumbai.”
When it came to describing Yadav, the batsman in Tare took the front seat: “Surya obviously is a gun player, I’ve never seen someone so talented with his batting. The kind of shots that he has, he can in any format win you games at will. I’m glad that finally he’s got his opportunity to play international cricket, which I think he should’ve done 3-4 years back.”
As glorious as it may look on the outside, leading Mumbai is never easy. Tare knows it. He is perhaps in the best position to talk about two players he’s seen grow into two strong Mumbai captains.
Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw have both led their sides competently. Shaw led India to the U19 World Cup glory in 2018 and Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title. Iyer, on the other hand, has been the captain of Delhi Capitals in the IPL for three years, apart from leading India A. Aditya terms both of them as ‘phenomenally good leaders’, and that being captain has had a positive influence on both their careers.
“Shaw obviously was in good form but I think to lead Mumbai in absence of Shreyas, Surya and Shardul triggered him a lot. I think he took it literally personally. He was determined to do well for Mumbai.”
Tare: I think he (Shaw) took it literally personally. He was determined to do well for Mumbai. (Photo: IANS)
A similar strong character is what Tare sees in Shreyas Iyer. Maybe it comes from the territory: “He’s become a really matured cricketer and a batsman, something that I really like about him apart from him also being so grounded.”
Even though Shreyas and Prithvi are DC boys in the IPL, the Mumbai relationship is strong for Aditya, who is part of the MI squad in Chennai for the upcoming T20 extravaganza.
Looking at the upcoming season he says, “To play in neutral venues in India … to play as Mumbai Indians in Chennai is going to be something different. It’ll be a test of flexibility for every franchise. That’s the beauty of the IPL, it throws big challenges on you.”
I manage to draw a laugh when I ask him about MI enjoying playing their cricket in the CSK den, a team they have overtaken in terms of IPL trophies in the last two years.
Tare: To play in neutral venues in India will be a test of flexibility for every franchise (Photo: IANS)
A lot has happened for MI, Mumbai Cricket Team, and Aditya since he hit that six over square leg on 25th May 2014. A special IPL night like that can often be too much for young players. For this one, though, it is only a sweet memory that has helped him learn and grow.
“There was a time in my career when I was running behind runs and personal performances,” says Aditya. “But in the past two years, I’ve realized it’s all about the way you feel in the middle. Be it a practice game or a net session, I really enjoy myself.”
You can almost sense it in his voice and judge by his words, Aditya Tare’s story is more than that one six.