'I'm looking forward to more opportunities' - Priyam Garg says breaking into the senior side is his ultimate goal

Just before the U19 World Cup, youngster Priyam Garg was roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping INR 1.9 crore in the IPL auction. The prodigy had humble beginnings as his father would sell milk, deliver newspapers and ferry children to school in a mini-van to run the family. In such a situation, cricket was never a priority in the Garg household.

However, Priyam’s father, after recognizing that it was cricket which attracted him the most, took him Meerut to train under Sanjay Rastogi — a popular coach who has also trained stars like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar. Priyam, after flaunting his talent in the academy, was slotted into Uttar Pradesh’s U14, U16 and U19 sides with the passage of time.

It was India A coach and veteran Rahul Dravid who spotted Priyam’s talent after he scored a century at an invitational tournament organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Alur. Garg was added into the U19 side soon and one of the biggest moments of his cricketing career came when he was assigned the captaincy in this year’s U19 World Cup in South Africa.

I have learnt a lot from Rahul sir: Priyam Garg

Despite not having a great tournament with the willow, India reached the final under Garg’s leadership but lost the pinnacle clash against Bangladesh. Priyam revealed that he learnt a lot from Dravid while donning the U19 jersey.

“I have learnt a lot from Rahul sir and Paras (Mhambrey) sir. Rahul sir taught me a lot of things on how to adapt to the conditions and play according to the situation. That has been great learning,” Priyam told Sportstar.

Priyam was set to represent Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2020. However, the tournament was postponed in the wake of COVID-19 debacle. With the cash-rich league set to be shifted to UAE, Garg is hopeful to shine in this year’s IPL. “I can read the game pretty fast and that has been my strength and I want to develop that skill. I am looking forward to more opportunities,” said 19-year-old Priyam.

The youngster, like most other cricketers, was stuck at home during the pandemic when the sporting scenario was at a halt. But it’s been a few weeks since he moved to Meerut to resume individual training and his ultimate goal is to break into the senior side. “During the lockdown, I could only do basic training and now that things are easing out, I am trying to get back in shape,” said Priyam.