22-Year-Old Delhi Boy Samarth Shifts To England Due To His Passion For Cricket

The 22-year-old left-hand batter began his stint in England, playing for the Barnard Castle Cricket Club, where he scored 1,475 runs in 2021 and became the highest run-getter in the Vitality Cup, smashing 259 runs in four innings.

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Cricketers from all around the world want to showcase their skills in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Several cricketers, who do not get a chance to play in India, go abroad -- especially to England -- to improve their skills and return to try and impress the IPL franchises.

Delhi's Samarth Seth is one such cricketer. The 22-year-old did not get much opportunity here, which forced him to shift base to England. He realised quite early in his career that rather than going through the rigours of first-class cricket in India, it would be better to explore foreign shores.

After playing just 13 First-class and 15 List A games, the left-hand batter began his stint in England, playing for the Barnard Castle Cricket Club, where he scored 1,475 runs in 2021 and became the highest run-getter in the Vitality Cup, smashing 259 runs in four innings.

Samarth hopes that the experience of playing in England will help him play in one of the several leagues that have mushroomed around the world, but most importantly the Indian Premier League as his aim is to play for the country.

"Like every cricketer, I too have a dream to play for Indian. But for that to happen, I must be a part of an IPL team and play for them," the 22-year-old Delhi-born cricketer told IANS, indicating that IPL helps cricketers achieve their Team India dream.

"Every budding cricketer wants to play in the IPL as it helps them achieve the Team India dream," he said. "IPL is a big platform. Many have got selected in the national team after performing well in the tournament. I will try my best to be a part of one of the teams. Let's see when I get a call from them," said the slow left-arm orthodox bowler.

It was the paucity of opportunities at the domestic level that forced Samarth to move to England. "It's all about getting chances. For me, I was not getting opportunities in Delhi, so I decided to move here (England). I am doing well here and it keeps me in a good frame of mind. Playing somewhere (outside India) is also important since it allows you to concentrate on your game without worrying about anything else," he said.

Samarth feels it's always good to explore opportunities wherever they are as the professional life of sportsperson is very short.

"In my view, there is no need to sit idle and wait for your turn. Only 11 will play in a match. It's always better to get into a playing XI somewhere rather than sitting and watching your team from the sidelines," Samarth said.

It's not that Samarth didn't try to get into the Delhi team, but non-cricketing issues kept coming in the way of his selection, and the youngster sounds quite disappointed about it.

"(The) reason everybody knows, but nobody wants to reveal it. I don't want to say anything about it. It is better that you attract the attention of people with your work more than your words. If you focus on your work then it is better to ignore the rest. My job is to play more and more, get runs in every match, and I am doing it regularly. Last year in England, I got 1,485 runs and because of that I was selected in Delhi's 50-member probables' list."

Samarth said that after doing so well in England, he was finally selected in the Delhi team for CK Nayudu trophy 2022, where he scored 61 runs in the only match he played.

"It's disappointing for me to not be a part of the Delhi team. I have given trials for the Under-25 team... did well. But again after getting selected, I played only one game. These things are kind of disheartening. Some players lose focus and succumb to these things, and those who can handle it with utmost care, emerge victorious," he said.

This is not the first time Samarth has shifted base from Delhi. He moved to Arunachal Pradesh in 2018, playing Ranji games for the state and scored many runs including a hundred against Mizoram.