Delhi Capitals' newcomer Lalit Yadav aspires to play like his teammates Iyer, Pant and Shaw

Young batting all-rounder Lalit Yadav aspires to follow the footsteps of his team-mates in Delhi Capitals (DC) — Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw. The 23-year-old cricketer from Delhi has been picked by the revamped franchise for the upcoming season and he is eyeing to give it all on debut in the annual T20 carnival.

Lalit is in fact from Najafgarh, the place from where former India basher Virender Sehwag hails, and bats quite like him in the shortest format. Iyer is the captain of the DC and led the side to the play-offs in 2019 after years. Pant is another major performer of the franchise while Shaw always knows when to shift gears.

Yadav made his first-class debut in 2017 and List-A and T20 debuts in 2018. In 12 first-class matches, he has scored 570 runs at an average of 40-plus while in 17 List-A matches, he has made 281 runs at an average of around 35. It is in the T20Is that the youngster has earned more name.

In 30 outings, he has made around 400 runs but what is striking is his strike rate of almost 137. Yadav’s last game was for Delhi against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy in which he managed seven runs each in two innings. In bowling, he has taken 47 wickets in total.

“This tournament (IPL) is a huge platform for upcoming cricketers. Delhi Capitals, in particular, is the best team for young Indian cricketers. I see this as an important stepping stone to eventually playing for India one day, like Shreyas, Rishabh and Prithvi,” India Today quoted Yadav as saying.

Lalit Yadav looking forward to be challenged

“I am looking forward to being challenged at this level and see where I really stand among the best in the world. DC has a great mix off domestic and international players, and also the best coaching set up a youngster could have asked for. I am keen to learn as much as possible from this experience,” Yadav further said.

In December, soon after picking Yadav, the Capitals tweeted his image in the franchise kit asking the fans to welcome the home lad. Yadav was playing in a Ranji match against Andhra Pradesh on December 19 when he got the news of himself getting picked by the Capitals for Rs 20 lakh. He has since been buried under wishes but he has not lost focus from the fact that he has to perform to get a step close to his India dreams.

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