NAGPUR: Vidarbha opener Atharva Taide was offered three contracts from as many clubs in the UK after he emerged as the top run-getter (1,170 runs) in the ECB Northern League (Division-1) in September 2021. Though the contracts were better than the existing one with Lancaster CC, his coach Umesh Patwal told Taide to come back home without signing any deal.
Patwal, the former Afghanistan batting consultant, was confident that the 21-year-old will make it big this season and land up with an IPL contract, which will automatically give him lucrative deal in the UK for the next season.
"I know Taide can knock every challenge down and emerge on top and he did in this domestic season. Apart from leading Vidarbha to the knockouts of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, he has bagged the most-deserving IPL contract with Punjab Kings. Now, you know why I asked him not to sign any deal in the UK. It is not that I was over confident but I was very sure about Taide's maturity and ability to enter the IPL scene," said Patwal, who has also coached Nepal national team, while talking to TOI on Tuesday.
The Akola-born southpaw has a new challenge to deal with from Thursday when Vidarbha begin their Ranji Trophy campaign. The multi-day format will play a bigger role in deciding Taide's course in the IPL.
"What Taide produced in T20s and one-dayers was just 10% of his ability. Now, he will have to gallop opportunities. A few mature and big innings in the Ranji will ease his way to crack the code of entering playing XI in this IPL," said Patwal, Mumbai's ex-under-19 coach.
The way Punjab Kings think-tank celebrated the victory bid for Taide shows how much they wanted him as an option for the top-order slot. It shows the franchise closely tracked the performances of former U-19 and U-23 Indian player in domestic T20 and one-day tournaments in the last three months.
"The celebrations reflected that they were really happy to get him at a base price of 20 lakh," the coach said.
Patwal feels he has not seen anybody of Taide's age with such great work ethics. "I have been really confident of Taide's competence because he has all the qualities of a great cricketer. Look at his performances from junior level, he has only grown in stature and always remained grounded," said Patwal, who was also a batting consultant in VCA's residential academy.
Taide, also the top wicket-taker in the UK league with 66 wickets, has become a vital cog in Vidarbha's top-three in any format. Now, the left-hander has got a desired IPL contract. He looks set for a big contract in the UK next season. But before he embarks on to bigger things, all his eyes are on the Ranji Trophy season.
