The moment that thousands of cricket enthusiasts in Uttarakhand have been waiting for is almost here with the Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 going on floors from Sunday, September 15.
The opening encounter sees the home side, Dehradun Warriors, play host to the Haridwar Spring Elmas at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, which will host the tournament in entirety. The buzz and anticipation towards the tournament is palpable, with the competition set to be flagged off by a glitzy Opening Concert hours prior to the tournament opener.
With the clock ticking towards the first ball, it’s a good time to have a look into the faces of the participant teams – the captains-cum-icon players. Here’s a fact file about the five men’s captains and their accolades so far ahead of the start of UPL 2024.
Aditya Tare (Dehradun Warriors)
A wicket-keeper batter boasting truckloads of experience on the domestic circuit, Aditya Tare is a name that needs no introduction. It goes without saying that he shall forever be remembered for that six which powered the Mumbai Indians into the playoffs of IPL 2014 after they found themselves languishing rock bottom for large swathes of the tournament. But Tare’s body of work goes beyond that one maximum alone.
With 95 first-class matches, 86 List A matches and 123 T20s to his name, Tare brings a wealth of experience that the youngsters of Uttarakhand plying their trade in UPL 2024 will look to tap into. He played a vast majority of these games for Mumbai but ahead of the 2022-23 season, made the switch to Uttarakhand as a professional player.
A fruitful Ranji Trophy 2023-24 campaign saw Tare compile 650 runs in seven matches at an average of 54.16. As he shows the way with the bat again in UPL 2024, his wisdom and tactical acumen from behind the stumps will attract equal attention in a bid to lead the Dehradun Warriors to glory over the next few days!
Ravikumar Samarth (Haridwar Spring Elmas)
A renowned player on the Indian domestic circuit who is about to begin a second innings, Ravikumar Samarth is set for his first stint as an Uttarakhand cricketer via UPL 2024, having been a stalwart down south in Karnataka for over a decade now. And he begins this journey with great responsibility as captain and icon of the Haridwar Spring Elmas.
A rock solid batter who is expected to play as opener, the right-handed Samarth is known for his ability to bat through the innings for the others to rally around him. That said, his exploits in the
Maharaja Trophy 2023 for the Mysore Warriors were as good a sign of his ability to hit a long ball as any, having smashed a 35-ball 63 in the final.
Samarth hit a purple patch during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2020-21 having tallied 613 runs in 7 Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at an average of 122.60 and a strike-rate of 105.32, scoring three hundreds in the process. At the ripe age of 31, he has plenty to offer not just to the Spring Elmas but Uttarakhand cricket on the whole, the signs of which are bound to be seen through the course of UPL 2024.
Rajan Kumar (Nainital SG Pipers)
A home grown talent, Rajan Kumar is one of the more exciting cricketers to have emerged from the state of Uttarakhand. The Haridwar-born left-arm seamer has generated a buzz on social media for his ability to rush batters off the surface while also possessing the ability to swing the ball courtesy of a slingy-arm action.
With 17 wickets from 13 T20 outings at an economy rate of 7.00, Rajan is one of the state’s premier fast-bowlers who has established himself as a regular across formats. His biggest breakthrough moment came in the form of his maiden IPL gig as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru snapped up his services ahead of the 2023 season.
Having bowled to superstars such as Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell in the RCB nets, Rajan is only going from strength to strength. As captain of the Nainital SG Pipers, he will be determined to carve a niche for himself and lay down a marker in UPL 2024.
Akash Madhwal (Pithoragh Hurricanes)
Uttarakhand’s white ball captain and the first cricketer from the state to play the IPL, Akash Madhwal is now a household name and the face of Uttarakhand cricket.
Madhwal’s growth as a late bloomer is an inspiring tale, having pursued a career in civil engineering before swapping it for the cricket ball. A decision that few would argue was the right one considering the rapid strides he has made in the sport.
While he’s not the tallest bowler around, that gives him the added advantage of flummoxing batters with a lack of bounce after he gets the ball to rush off the surface. It was on display in IPL 2023, where he took upon the mantle of bowling the death overs for Mumbai Indians in the absence of an injured Jasprit Bumrah. With figures of 5/5 against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator, he broke the record for the best returns in the IPL playoffs.
Madhwal is currently Uttarakhand’s highest wicket-taker in T20s (27). Needless to say, his mean yorkers will capture the attention of fans all over as he fronts up as skipper of the Pithoragarh Hurricanes in UPL 2024.
Kunal Chandela (USN Indians)
Originally from Delhi, Kunal Chandela’s journey across all three formats of cricket has been a fascinating one. He made his first-class debut in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, opening the innings alongside Gautam Gambhir and compiling a solid 64 against Hyderabad. His List A debut, however, came in the Dhaka Premier League as his unbeaten 41 helped Prime Bank Cricket Club chase down 173 without a fuss.
Once he made the switch from Delhi to Uttarakhand, he got his first taste of top level T20 cricket having debuted in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Today, Chandela is a permanent fixture across formats and one of the senior players in the setup, having scored the most runs by an Uttarakhand batter in first-class cricket and the second most in T20s.
Besides captaining the USN Indians, Chandela will also be the team’s most vital cog on the batting front. Expected to get the team off to a rollicking start in the powerplay, he could certainly bring a lot of fireworks to the tournament. Don’t be surprised then if the ball flying into the mountains off Chandela’s bat becomes the norm!
