Ashok Menaria walked over for tea at the end of the second session with four Haryana players, chatting and laughing at the counter. For the youngsters, the 34-year-old is more than just a senior player in the side; he’s someone they can jovially hang out with.
Struggling with a knee injury, Menaria finds it tough to play every match now. So, when Haryana began its domestic season against Bengal in the Buchi Babu Invitational in Chennai on Monday, he put on the mentor’s cap — a role he says comes naturally. “Whatever I know, I try to pass on — from stories to motivation,” he tells Sportstar. “If you want to complicate cricket, you can. If you want to make it easy, it’s easy too.”
For him, the game was always about joy first. “None of us started cricket because we wanted to play for India. Back then, nobody even knew, or hoped. It was just fun. If you take the fun out of it, this game becomes very tough.”
Menaria has lived through that struggle. Injuries meant he couldn’t push towards national selection like his batchmates K.L. Rahul and Jaydev Unadkat did. “I can keep thinking KL [Rahul] did this, Jaydev did that, or I can accept that this was my destiny. I never thought I’d even play one match for the board. Today, I’ve played close to 100 First Class games. That’s much ahead of where I started.”
“There was a time when I was running behind things, doing extra efforts, but the results didn’t come from that. You need to have your destiny; if there’s no destiny, then nothing can happen,” he adds.
FILE PHOTO: Having moved from Rajasthan to Haryana in 2023, Menaria is trying to guide the younger players as he moves towards the twilight of his career.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI/ The Hindu
FILE PHOTO: Having moved from Rajasthan to Haryana in 2023, Menaria is trying to guide the younger players as he moves towards the twilight of his career.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI/ The Hindu
Having moved from Rajasthan to Haryana in 2023, Menaria is trying to guide the younger players as he moves towards the twilight of his career. His message to them is simple: you belong. “A boy from a district often worries about the city culture, English, and clothes. But as a cricketer, it is different. My job is to tell him he doesn’t need to change anything.”
It comes from his own experiences. “I also came from a small place (Udaipur in Rajasthan), captained India Under-19 (World Cup 2009), and had the same insecurities. So, when someone from a lower-middle-class background feels out of place, I can tell him ‘You’re fine’. Don’t try to change yourself.”
He sees mentoring as just an extension of captaincy. “As a captain, you manage everyone, but you don’t teach. Here I can share ideas, tactics, and mindset. I’m not a coach, and I don’t want to complicate things.”
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That also extends to how he frames Haryana’s reputation. “People hear someone is from Haryana and take a step back. Fine. Carry that perception onto the field. Let them feel a Haryana player has arrived. Sports, anger, attitude — yes, that’s us. And we’ll keep it that way.”
In the recently held India tour of England, Haryana’s Anshul Kamboj got a late call-up and was handed his debut in the Manchester Test. Despite the team earning a draw, the pacer received flak on social media for his performance.
Menaria opined that every sports person will need to accept that this is bound to happen and there’s no hiding from it.
“The beauty of a sportsperson is maturity. You don’t blast off at criticism. If you do well, they’ll praise you. If you don’t, the same people will write against you. First time it hits you hard, but later you realise it’s routine.