From dealing with cricket and father's cancer to being Duleep Trophy's Player of the Series, Saransh Jain shares cricketing journey [Exclusive]

Saransh Jain, born to a family with cricketing heritage, got the early access to the love for the game. However, his journey into Madhya Pradesh’s domestic set-up is awe-inspiring. Playing for Vijay Club, a popular one in the city, Saransh trained alongside Rajat Patidar, whom he also defines as a very calm and composed captain. His father-cum-coach, Subodh Jain, is a former Ranji Trophy player himself. Subodh, who once had a dream of donning the Indian jersey, continues to do so through Saransh, his younger son.

And Saransh is no rookie. He has had consistent performances in Ranji and other domestic tournaments for whatever side he plays for. His most-recent outings for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 gave him a widespread reckoning for his Player of the Match performance, taking a staggering 16 wickets, the most this year, while also chipping in with half-centuries in the semi-final and the final against the West Zone and South Zone, respectively.

In an exclusive chat with CricTracker, Saransh was kind enough to share whatever was asked, and did not mince his words in narrating his journey to being a top First-Class cricketer.

Excerpts from the interview

What is your raw feeling after winning the Duleep Trophy with Central Zone and also getting a Player of the Series?

For the last couple of years, I have been performing consistently, which has taken me to a circle where the national selectors are keeping an eye on me. It feels good to be getting the Player of the Series, since it is such an important tournament. Like every player, I also want my team to win, and if I perform in team’s winning cause, then it helps me in growing my cricket to the next step.

Currently, I am absolutely ready to give it my all, and if the selectors call me into the national side, I am willing to give it my all in any capacity or any role offered. My sole purpose of playing cricket for such a long time has only been to see myself play at the highest level. You never know when you get a call, but like everyone else, I am ready for anything that comes my way.

What keeps you driven to keep playing cricket for so long. What is your source of inspiration to being connected to the game?

Firstly, I would like to mention that I come from a cricketing family. My father played Ranji for MP. My elder brother also played, and I used to go to the club for training in my initial days alongside bhaiya. Unfortunately, he had to drop his plans of playing, but I continued working on my game.

However, the most inspiring moment came when I had once gone to Australia with Madhya Pradesh side for a camp. There, when I was playing, my father got diagnosed with mouth cancer, and I got to know only upon my return to Indore. He had undergone a few chemotherapies due to which he couldn’t speak. So he wrote a note for me reading, ‘Just focus on your game, I will get well soon.’ I still have that note with me, and if apart from playing for myself, if there is anything, I want to continue playing cricket only to see my father happy.

You got the Lala Amarnath award for the Best All-Rounder from Rahul Dravid a couple of years back. How would you define that season?

I realized my all-round potential almost seven years after my Ranji debut, as we played the final against Mumbai in 2021-22 season and I scored a fifty there. That was the turning point as an all-rounder for me, because when I scored my maiden fifty against a team like Mumbai, it became a great motivation and I also had a feeling that I can bat too. 

Then in the following season, I kept scoring well and that is when I was honoured with the Lala Amarnath Award, which I got from Rahul Dravid at the BCCI Naman Awards. So I have always believed that if my performances are good, I will get the rewards that follow the hard work. So I always trust the process of continuing working towards your beliefs and the results will always follow.

With your all-rounder capabilities, do you think you can play the role of Ravichandran Ashwin in the Indian team if given a chance?

I cannot compare myself to Ashwin sir, but definitely, I would want to contribute to the best of my abilities for the Indian team. Ashwin has been a legend of this game, so taking his place is not possible, but I am willing to give my 100 per cent to the team’s cause and ready to play to the needs of the team.

The BCCI has mandated national cricketers to play domestic cricket. Has this helped the domestic cricketers in any way, since they directly get to play with international stars?

Definitely, it has helped the domestic cricketers. Recently in the Duleep Trophy match, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the two players with whom I learnt a lot. Gaikwad, even after getting the big score, clearly showing that he had patience and aimed to go even bigger.

From Shreyas Iyer, I learnt that he fears nothing on field while batting. He has his own style of batting, where he will slog the first ball he faces if it is in the arc. So the intent of Iyer and the patience of Ruturaj is something that is worth learning when they play domestic cricket.

How would you define the characteristics of Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy skills?

One thing that is good about him is that he always backs his players a lot. I have never seen him go against the belief of his player and allows him to bowl or bat with freedom. And this is a very big plus point for a successful captain.

Do you think Madhya Pradesh deserves an IPL team of its own, and what should be the name if there is one?

In the last few years, players from MP have started gaining widespread recognition around the globe. A handful of MP guys are playing in the IPL as well. MP also has its own T20 league with the initiative of Jyotiraditya Scindia, and players who performed here were picked in the IPL and did well there too. There are many talented players in MP and Scindia Ji has given that platform to the locals. So Madhya Pradesh does deserve an IPL franchise of its own, and if I were to give a name, it would be MP Royal Tigers.

Talking about MP and IPL, it is impossible to not mention the name of Rajat Patidar. What makes him such a successful captain? Can you express your thoughts?

Rajat and I have been playing together since our Under-12 days. Like me, he is also an introvert, due to which we developed a good bond since childhood. While growing up in our cricketing careers together, I never thought he will go on to become such a good captain, but I always knew that he will play at the highest level. 

Since his young days, Rajat has been a very calm person, but as a batsman, he has always been extremely aggressive. He is also a master at reading the situation, and that skill reflects in his captaincy. And while he has always been a good batter, I think RCB were quick to notice his captaincy skills as well. His experience and the ability to read the game well must have helped RCB to lift their maiden title on the biggest stage in cricket like IPL. So that’s what makes him a very special player as a captain. And this makes me feel proud of him as well.

If Patidar pushes for you at the IPL 2026 auction to play for RCB, will you be delighted? Or any other franchise that you’d love playing for?

I will certainly like to play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, because it has been one of my favourite teams since the start. However, I also like Chennai Super Kings a lot, so wherever I get an opportunity to play, I would love playing in the IPL. In IPL, I like Ashwin and MS Dhoni a lot. They both have been my all-time favourites. As a spinner, I like Ashwin and as a player, I have a dream of playing once under Mahi bhai’s captaincy. Hopefully, I can share the dressing room with them some time soon.

There are thousands of players who play Ranji Trophy, but only a few make a name for themselves on the back of their performances. But to those who don’t, what is the monthly expense on diet and training required to keep your game up to the mark, or improve it for that matter?

These days, cricket has become very fast, whether it is the T20 or Tests. For a cricketer playing professionally, diet and fitness are of the highest priority. Because the game can improve only when the training and diet are in check. And to be able to do that, I think 20-25,000 is the minimum requirement because the supplements are very expensive and special training takes a decent toll on the pocket as well. And the BCCI pay structure has improved recently, so a cricketer is able to manage bearing those expenses for his best game.