Delhi-based wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat is playing in the Delhi Premier League for East Delhi Riders these days. The 24-year-old is one of the top performers for the Himmat Singh-led side and has helped them top the league table (16 points) and secure a place in the semifinal. Anuj, who is one of the senior-most members of the side, has also played in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and he wants to do well in the ongoing DPL to help his side win the tournament.
Anuj, whose ultimate goal is to play for India in the future, is more focused on doing well for the East Delhi Riders and then maintaining his performance in the upcoming domestic season for Delhi.
“I want to help my team win the DPL. As a senior player, it is very important for me to do well and gain confidence here and then take it to the upcoming domestic season and perform well there for Delhi,” Anuj told CricketNext in an interview.
“I am opening in the DPL, so I need to give my team a good start. I know that I did well at the end of the inning, but it was important to start well at the top as well. I am aware that this thing will help me improve my game,” he added.
According to him, if he manages to keep performing well, he will get a chance to play for India as well. Anuj, whose preferred position is opener, has played in the middle order and as a finisher as well. The wicketkeeper-batter feels his ability to bat at different positions and do well differentiates him from the rest, and it will help him in the long run as well.
“If you ask me as an established batter, I would like to open the innings, but I have played in different positions. Be it as an opener, in the middle order, or as a finisher even. And I think this thing separates me from others. If you see when an opener is asked to bat in the middle order, he struggles to create the same impact, but that’s not the case with me. In the last 2-3 years, I have prepared myself in such a way that I can produce the same impact in whichever position I am asked to bat,” he said.
In the 2022 IPL season for RCB, Rawat opened the innings, and in the 2024 season, he made an impact as a finisher.
‘Everyone wants to play T20s, but…’
The youngster feels that due to the rise of IPL, every cricketer wants to play T20s these days, but Test cricket has its own charm, and he always prepares in such a way that he can earn a place in the red-ball team.
“IPL has come, so all the cricketers always have the preference for T20s. But if you see, Test cricket has its own charm, and nothing can match that, be it ODI cricket or T20s. So, I prepare myself in such a way that I can make a place in the Test team.”
‘Lot to learn from Virat’
Anuj has shared the dressing room with Kohli in the IPL for three seasons in a row now. While sharing the experience of being part of RCB’s camp, Anuj said that he has learnt so much from Virat just by looking at how he prepares for the matches, and it has helped him to improve his game as well.
“It is a very big thing to share the dressing room with him (Kohli). You can learn a lot by seeing his preparations for the matches and with his performances in the matches as well, and it has helped me improve my game as well.”
RCB’s turnaround in IPL 2024
In IPL 2024, RCB were on the brink of elimination after losing seven out of the first eight matches, but from there on, the Faf du Plessis-led side made a super comeback and went on to win six matches in a row to book a place in the playoffs. Speaking about the team atmosphere in RCB’s camp during the lean patch at the start, Rawat said that early setbacks didn’t disturb the team environment.
“There was nothing like a turnaround because even when we were losing matches in the start, those things were not affecting our players or the team atmosphere at all, and after that when we started winning, the atmosphere was the same. But yes, in the strategy meetings that used to take place, the senior players played a very important role in chalking out new plans, and those things helped us a lot in the second half.”
If not RCB, then CSK
Anuj made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and has been associated with RCB in the IPL since 2022. He wants to play for the Bengaluru-based franchise next year as well because according to him, any cricketer who has played for RCB once wants to be with them forever. But if he is not retained by the three-time losing finalists ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and not picked in the player auction as well, then he wants to be part of the Chennai Super Kings because of MS Dhoni’s presence in the team.
“Whoever has played for RCB once wants to play for them forever. But if not RCB, then I want to play for CSK because MS Dhoni is there. He has a different personality, and all the players talk about him.”
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