[Exclusive] Aditya Sarvate shares initial impressions of Kerala shift for Ranji Trophy 2024-25

A tall Indian left-arm spinner in his mid-30s, who can be pretty handy with the bat, has taken close to 300 wickets in red-ball cricket, and saved the team from early collapses time and again. What would one reckon on being asked to name the player being described? Ravindra Jadeja? No. It is indeed Nagpur-born Aditya Sarvate. A two-time Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup champion.

Sarvate, coming from a family of cricket lineage where his father played for clubs and grandfather was a Marathi commentator, did not feel any hesitation in picking up a cricket kit, even if it came at a slightly older age. His father, Anand, however, could not play long enough, as he fell bedridden due to a bodily condition, when Aditya was just two and had barely started walking.

Making his Vidarbha debut against Assam a few days ahead of his 26th birthday, Sarvate did not take long to make an impression, taking eight wickets in his maiden outing, and a quiet 20 runs down the order. 

Since then, Sarvate had been a servant of VCA, until he finally swung his paddle towards Kerala ahead of the 2024-25 season of the prestigious Ranji Trophy tournament.

Sarvate caught up exclusively with CricTracker and divulged into the initial impressions of shifting his base, under the captaincy of Sachin Baby.

In the first round match at Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, the 34-year-old's debut for Kerala was what he would dream of. On a dry wicket, the slow left-arm orthodox was trusted to open the bowling against a strong Punjab side. "Our home ground is generally helpful for the spinners, so we played only one pacer (Basil Thampi)," is how he described the decision.

"The coach (Amay Khurasia) asked me if I can open the bowling." Adjudging it as "nothing new", Sarvate replied, "I've done it with VCA too under Chandrakant Pandit, so it's not like I'm doing it here (for the first time)."

The result? Sarvate struck on just the fifth ball of the match, sending opener Abhay Chaudhary packing, followed by the wicket of Naman Dhir in the fifth over. It was then time for Prabhsimran Singh who got undone off a beautiful delivery that sent the bails for a toss.

The newest addition to the Kerala team was then joined by Jalaj Saxena, and the spin duo did not let Punjab batters answer their queries. Bundling the opposition for 194 in the first innings, Sarvate dismissed a couple of more batters in the form of Ramandeep Singh and Emanjot Singh Chahal, which also got him to a fifer in the maiden outing. Saxena too picked a five-for as Baby's decision worked wonders.

The second innings saw him pick four more wickets to end the match with a nine-wicket haul and also earn a Player of the Match that helped Kerala win the game by eight wickets. And surely, he was happy to contribute to a young side.

On being asked about the playing experience between Kerala and Vidarbha, he was prompt enough to answer, "I don't think it's any different (the experience). The VCA squad is similar to that of Kerala. The boys are very good, and so is the team atmosphere. The players we have are very talented."

The spinner further revealed that a game's success does not overwhelm him. Staying true to the carpe diem approach, Sarvate does not believe in keeping long-term goals and focuses on one match at a time.