Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
“Come on, Vicky, come on, Vicky!”
The chant rang out from the Maharashtra dugout as Vicky Ostwal kept running in on a hot afternoon against Railways in their Ranji Trophy season opener in Palam, Delhi. There was no shortage of encouragement, but the left-arm spinner was hardly looking for a way out. He wanted the ball, and he wanted another spell on Wednesday.
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Vicky Ostwal had already put in the hard yards in the first innings, bowling 24.2 overs and taking two wickets. He had also scored a valuable 50, batting with the tail to help Maharashtra reach 333 after Ankit Bawne’s hundred. With a lead of 110 runs, the visitors had given their bowlers some breathing room on a pitch that was becoming increasingly difficult to bat on.
In the second innings on Day 4, stand-in captain Prithvi Shaw opted for a three-pronged spin attack, and Ostwal responded with 28 overs and five wickets as Railways were bowled out for 120. It was his third five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy, and a performance that underlined how much Maharashtra could ask of him.
For a 24-year-old still establishing himself in senior domestic cricket, it was a substantial workload. Ostwal, however, seemed happy to take it on.
“I was really happy that I could contribute to the team’s win with both bat and ball,” he told reporters after Maharashtra’s win with a beaming smile on his face.
“When you get an outright win in an away game, especially on a pitch like this, it is a good start to the season.”
The wickets made for a memorable afternoon, but the 50 was just as important. Ostwal has spent the past few years working on his batting, determined to be more than a left-arm spinner who could offer a few runs down the order. Against Railways, he delivered at a crucial stage, helping Maharashtra build a total that gave their bowlers the cushion they needed.
“I’ve worked a lot on my batting over the past two or three years. I’ve scored runs in the Under-23s and local leagues as well,” he said.
“Last year, I was contributing with the bat, putting together partnerships with the top-order batters and scoring 30-odd runs lower down the order. But getting a 50 in a crucial stage of the first innings was a great confidence booster.”
LOVE FOR RED-BALL CRICKET
Ostwal is not short of ambition. He considers himself a “pure all-rounder”, pointing to hundreds in the Maharashtra Premier League and Cooch Behar Trophy as evidence of what he can do with the bat. Yet, when asked what he enjoys most about cricket, his answer returns to the format that demands the most patience.
“I think it is the best format, and that’s the format I love to play,” he said of red-ball cricket. “It tests your character, your patience, your skill and how mentally tough you are. Day in and day out, you have to put in the hard yards, especially when you are playing in this heat. You don’t get anything easy from this game.”
For someone who has experienced the glamour of the Indian Premier League and spent time around the national team set-up, there is something striking about the simplicity of that answer. Ostwal is not in a hurry to turn every opportunity into a declaration of what he wants to become. He is enjoying the work in front of him.
His domestic record suggests that the hard work is beginning to pay off. Ostwal took 69 wickets in the 2024-25 CK Nayudu Trophy, the Under-23 multi-day competition, before making a breakthrough in the Ranji Trophy last season with 23 wickets in seven matches. His opportunities at the senior level had been limited before that, with just three appearances across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The jump from age-group cricket to the senior game is rarely straightforward, particularly for a spinner who must learn to bowl long spells, read batters and adapt to different surfaces. Ostwal’s recent progress has been built on the opportunity to do precisely that. The Railways match was another reminder that his value to Maharashtra need not be confined to his primary skill.
His approach to difficult days is similarly uncomplicated. Asked about his frustration when he gets out early or goes wicketless, Ostwal pushed back against the idea that every performance must be categorised as good or bad.
“What is a bad day for you, actually?” he was asked.
“For me, it is about being clear with my plans and trying to execute them. If you are batting and you are promoted, and the situation is tricky, your job is to stay there with a senior player. If you get out playing a rash shot, that makes you angry. As a bowler, if you have a plan and you don’t stick to it, that is something a cricketer doesn’t want,” he said.
He added: “If, at the end of the day, I feel I’ve executed my plans, then I don’t feel it is a bad day. Probably it just wasn’t my day. Executing the plans and doing it for the team is more important.”
LEARNING FROM VIRAT KOHLI
There is a practical streak to that philosophy, one that has perhaps been reinforced by the opportunities he has received away from Maharashtra. Delhi Capitals had signed him earlier in his career, and he joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the 2026 IPL season. An IPL debut has eluded him so far, but the time spent around senior players has offered lessons that extend beyond the immediate demands of T20 cricket.
Meeting Virat Kohli for the first time left Ostwal nervous. That feeling did not last long once they began talking about cricket. After bowling to Kohli in the nets, he asked the former India captain what he thought of his bowling and what he could have done differently.
“He gives 100 per cent in the nets and never treats it casually,” Ostwal said. “If you manage to beat him or challenge him, you feel you’ve done a good job.”
Kohli’s work ethic left an equally lasting impression. “He told me that if your work ethics are right and you do your routine every single day without skipping anything, talent or anything else follows,” Ostwal said. “Seeing him work with the exact same dedication day in and day out, despite being at the peak level, has been a huge inspiration and life learning for me.”
Ostwal also picked the brains of Krunal Pandya, particularly on the tactical demands of white-ball cricket. As a left-arm spinner, he wanted to understand how to stay ahead of batters in a format where the margin for error is small and runs come quickly. The question, he said, was how to squeeze in even one dot ball every over.
Those conversations have helped him think about the game differently. But the IPL experience has not distracted him from the work waiting when he returns to domestic cricket. If anything, it has strengthened his confidence.
The same was true of his stint as a net bowler ahead of the 2026 Asian Games. A call from the BCCI about his visa, roughly two weeks before the tour, alerted him to the opportunity. He was delighted to be around the Indian team and work with coaches VVS Laxman and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who had known him since his Under-19 days and his time at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
The exposure was valuable, but Ostwal is careful not to mistake proximity to the highest level for having arrived there. His immediate priorities remain closer to home, with Maharashtra.
“Firstly, domestic comes first, and my state comes first because Maharashtra has given me everything,” he said.
“Winning the Ranji Trophy is my first goal. After that, winning the IPL and playing for the Indian team are the next steps.”
There is a story behind the patience. Ostwal grew up in Lonavala, and his father travelled with him to Pune every day for four years so that he could train at the academy. His father, a civil contractor before retiring, began making those journeys when Vicky was seven or eight. His mother, meanwhile, helped manage the early mornings, meals and the everyday demands of a young cricketer’s routine.
“My parents have been extremely supportive. They never told me to keep cricket as a second option,” Ostwal said. “Without struggle no one grows, and I deeply value the sacrifices my mom and dad made.”
The sacrifices have brought him to a point where the opportunities are becoming more meaningful. He has been part of a World Cup-winning Under-19 side, spent time in an IPL dressing room and trained around the Indian team. Yet the next step is not something he wants to force. It must come through the work he does for Maharashtra.
For now, that means turning up, bowling his overs, improving his batting and learning from each game. Against Railways, he did all of that in a single match, and the five-wicket haul was the reward.
He has had a glimpse of the world beyond domestic cricket. But Ostwal isn’t in a hurry to get there. For now, he is happy to keep turning up, bowling his overs and finding out just how far the hard yards can take him.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
