Cricket
Cricket
Meet Smit Patel of Ahmedabad, an upcoming wicket-taking spin bowler
Representing New LJ College at Red Bull Campus Cricket 2022 India Finals, the spin bowler claimed five wickets in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Smit Patel is a future star of cricket who put his name in the limelight with his performances on Day 4 of Red Bull Campus Cricket 2022 India Finals.
Representing New LJ College, Ahmedabad, the bowling all-rounder did a star turn in his team’s semi-final match to make sure they made it to the ultimate challenge.
Smit Patel playing at Red Bull Campus Cricket
© Focus Sports
After the batters of New LJ College had put up a great score of 173/9 in 20 overs, it was down to the bowlers to secure the victory. And Smit took charge of the situation to make sure it would go in his team’s favour.
He claimed five wickets for the loss of seven runs in the three overs that he bowled to opponents DAVV University, Indore. It meant that he helped restrict their score to just 120 runs for all wickets lost in 18 overs.
It was a truly remarkable performance by Smit in which he maintained an economy of 2.33 to win the player of the match award.
Smit Patel playing at Red Bull Campus Cricket
© Focus Sports
Smit is a 21-year-old bowling all-rounder from Ahmedabad.
He started playing professional cricket nearly 10 years ago and found his niche with the ball in his hands.
As a bowler he produces left-arm orthodox spin as his main role in any team. He also backs it up with a right-handed batting stance, which comes naturally to him despite being a lefty.
He has played for the Under-19 Saurashtra team, representing the side in the famous Cooch Behar Trophy. He is currently part of the Under-23 Saurashtra squad as well. In the past, he has represented his school team in national-level tournaments.
He used to train at Universal Cricket Academy in Ahmedabad until two years ago, but with lockdown situations restricting movement, he had to find his own way to continue to train regularly.
“Together with five-six friends, we built a cricket pitch on a nearby ground. So for two years with lockdowns, we have been practicing regularly there; on a pitch we built ourselves. The ground doesn’t have a name or anything; it is just a small local ground in my neighbourhood,” says Smit.
His cricket idol is Ravindra Jadeja, who he finds association with on the count of both being bowling all-rounders who produce left-arm orthodox spin.
“My bowling action used to be very similar to that of Ravindra Jadeja. That was my natural bowling action. But then there were some problems with my bowling action so I had to work on it and change it. No I have a different, unique bowling style,” says Smit.
Smit Patel playing at Red Bull Campus Cricket
© Focus Sports
He has a simple philosophy with his bowling strategy.
“I like to keep the economy low from the beginning. I don’t have to go for wickets. If the economy is low, it will put pressure on the batters and the wickets will fall to me automatically as they try to get adventurous or aggressive,” says Smit.
Being a predominantly white ball cricket player, Smit has set his next professional target to play for an IPL team. After that, he hopes to break into the Indian cricket team.
He sees Red Bull Campus Cricket as a stepping stone in his career.
“I’ve been playing Red Bull Campus Cricket for four years now. I won the award of best bowler of the tournament last year (2021). I first heard about the tournament when I joined New LJ College. I knew that the team would participate in Red Bull Campus Cricket, but in the initial years we would not qualify for the India Finals because the level of competition is so high. Then we recruited more players and better players; since then we have consistently qualified for the India Finals,” says Smit.
Smit Patel at Red Bull Campus Cricket
© Focus Sports
Results from Day 4 of Red Bull Campus Cricket 2022 India Finals
Semifinal 1 (men): Alfalah University, Delhi, 136/10 (20 overs) beat DAV College, Jalandhar, 120/10 (20 overs) by 16 runs. (Match played on 10th June, 9am, at PCA Stadium, Mohali) – Check scorecard
Semifinal 2 (men): New LJ College, Ahmedabad, 173/9 (20 overs) beat DAVV University, Indore, 120/10 (18 overs) by 53 runs. (Match played on 10th June, 9pm, at PCA Stadium, Mohali) – Check scorecard
Semifinal 1 (women): Dr MGR Janaki College, Chennai, 42/10 (13.5 overs) lost to Rizvi College, Mumbai, 43/2 (6.2 overs) by eight wickets. (Match played on 10th June, 9am, at Mullanpur Stadium, Chandigarh) – Check scorecard
Semifinal 2 (women): JMC Delhi, 84/6 (20 overs) lost to Marwari College, Ranchi, 87/6 (15.4 overs) by five wickets. (Match played on 10th June, 1pm, at Mullanpur Stadium, Chandigarh) – Check scorecard
