CHENNAI: Innesh Mahajan was in Puducherry representing Himachal Pradesh in the senior inter-state one-day tournament when he was asked to join another team from the state playing in the All India Buchi Babu Invitation Tournament in Chennai. Himachal captain Mayank Dagar had to join the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy and hence the coach decided to bring in Mahajan as his replacement.
Hours after reaching Chennai, 20-year-old Mahajan not only took the field but also led the team in their second match against Chhattisgarh. Having captained Himachal U19 team in the past, the wicketkeeper and left-hand opening batter had the experience and his teammates, especially the senior ones made it easy for him by lending support whenever required. "It was a good experience. The seniors guided me a lot," Mahajan, who was also in the India U19 squad for the 2024 World Cup, told The New Indian Express.
It was Mahajan's mother, Ekta, who encouraged him to take up sports. "She always wanted me to pursue some sport with academics. At four, I started with tennis and then dabbled in skating before switching to cricket at six." Before he was born, the parents shifted to Noida from Himachal Pradesh and the move only helped their son to grow as a cricketer.
Three years later, Mahajan changed the school to pursue cricket seriously. "I joined Billabong School that has Wonders Cricket Club. There I met coach Phool Chand Sharma sir. He played a key role in my development as a cricketer. He also introduced me to Tanmay (Srivastava) bhaiyya there. Since then, he has been mentoring me and guiding me whenever I need any help."
Tanmay is a former Uttar Pradesh and India U19 player who also featured in the IPL representing a few teams. He then did a coaching course before taking up umpiring.
Mahajan made his first-class debut in the 2024-25 season playing two Ranji Trophy matches for Himachal Pradesh and slammed a half-century on his debut against Hyderabad. Before that, he had middling returns from whatever age-group tournaments he had featured in. "The start was not that good last season and then Tanmay bhaiyya's experience helped me. He guided me on how to get out of such situations. Then I made my Ranji debut and things improved from thereon," said Mahajan.
When queried about his association with the youngster, Srivastava said he helps Mahajan mentally and emotionally. "I just guide him with whatever experience I have got by playing cricket for years. Nothing much technical but it's more about mental and emotional guidance," Tanmay, member of the India U19 team that won the World Cup under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, said.
Mahajan, who idolises former England skipper Alastair Cook and ex-Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, might not have got a game in the 2024 India U19 World Cup but he didn't regret it. "I just wanted to stay prepared to grab opportunities whenever they come my way. I cannot keep thinking about why I was not given a game as if I do that then I will never be able to cash the opportunities. The best I can do is to stay ready and perform my best whenever I get a chance."
Himachal didn't make it to the Buchi Babu semifinals as they lost two and drew one match to bow out of the league stage. Mahajan, however, said he is ready for the upcoming season. "I am in a happy space at the moment. The coaches and everyone here in the team are backing me which in turn gives me a lot of confidence. And we are playing a lot of matches ahead of the Ranji Trophy. So the preparations are good and this will help me in adapting to different situations," signed off Mahajan.