Gurugram (Haryana) [India], May 17 (ANI): Kerala batter Vathsal Govind, a part of the team's 2024-25 Ranji Trophy runners-up finish squad, spoke on idolising cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar and his experience of meeting the state's superstar wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson.

Vathsal was speaking to ANI in Gurugram. He has represented Kerala's senior team in 11 first-class matches, having made 376 runs in 13 innings at an average of 31.33, including a century. In List-A cricket, he has been prolific with 503 runs in 14 innings at an average of 50.21, with three fifties.

Having represented both his birthplace, Delhi, and Kerala at the age-group level in 2010s, Vathsal earned his Kerala call-up in 2018.

Speaking on his experience so far in Kerala, saying that he sees all his opportunities as 'learning experiences' and wants to contribute as much as possible for his team.

'I view experience as a learning process. I try to learn something from every level I play at. By God's grace, there were some very good performances in the age groups. Because of that, I got a call-up for the senior team as well. So, I see opportunities as learning experiences. I learn as much as I can from my seniors and teammates, and I try to contribute as much as possible to my team,' he said.

On how his cricketing journey took him from Delhi to Kerala, he said that his father is from Kerala and had been residing in Delhi for 40 years before making a move to Pune just last year.

'I did my schooling in Delhi. But from college onwards... I have been playing for Kerala,' he said.

He trained in Delhi under the guidance of the late Tarak Sinha (of iconic Sonnet Cricket Club) and coach Mayank Nigam of Hansraj Model School. He represented Delhi in the Vijay Merchant Trophy, the country's premier U16 tournament in 2015-16, before moving to Kerala and making his mark in the Cooch Behar Trophy (under-19 multi-day state cricket competition), Vinoo Mankad Trophy (under-19 state one-day tournament) and other competitions.

He was the top run-getter in Cooch Behar Trophy in 2018-19, scoring 1,235 runs, including five centuries (a triple century included) and six fifties. On earning his senior side call-up, he slammed his maiden first-class ton in the second match and was the part of 2024-25 Ranji Trophy runners-up team, losing to Vidarbha. In his debut Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2020-2021, he made 292 runs in five matches, with two fifties.

Vathsal idolises Sachin and more than his cricket, it is Sachin's overall nature as a good human being that inspires him. He also cited a triple century smashed in Kerala during an inter-zone match as an achievement he still cherishes.

'I idolise Sachin Tendulkar a lot. My goal is to try to be as good a person as he is. While becoming a good cricketer happens through practice on the ground, what's more important, as he says, is being a good human being. So, it is Sachin Tendulkar sir. Regarding matches, one match I will always remember is when I went to Kerala, because I was in Delhi until under-16. After moving to Kerala, there was an inter-zone match, which was a selection match. I scored a triple-hundred there. It was my first triple-hundred, 301 not out. That was a very great achievement, a very satisfying achievement for me,' he said.

He also said that when he received his call-up for the Kerala Ranji team, his first interaction was with Sanju Samson, who he calls him as his 'elder brother'.

'When I got my first call-up for the Kerala Ranji team, my first interaction in the dressing room was with Sanju bhaiya. While the whole country calls him 'Chetta', I call him 'bhaiya' because he also has a connection with Delhi, and I see him as an elder brother,' he said.

Vathsal said that Sanju did not let him feel any pressure. 'He treated me very well and also assured me that if I needed anything related to cricket, I could always go to him and ask,' he added.

On being a part of the squad which reached the Ranji Trophy finals, he said that it was a great experience because for the first time in their 70-year history, Kerala had made it to the Ranji finals.

'We missed out due to some mistakes, but more important than that was our journey. So, not just for me but for everyone, it was a wonderful experience,' he added.

Vathsal has also played some club cricket in England, for the Egremont Cricket Club in 2023 and Fleetwood Cricket Club in 2024, scoring 951 runs and taking 49 wickets for the latter.

He said that his biggest learning in the UK was about staying away from home and managing things without his family and loved ones near him.

'I think the biggest learning for me in the UK was staying away from my home country for four months. When you are here (in India), you know you can get help from anywhere; people are helpful in case of an emergency, you know them, you can talk to them,' he said.

'But in the UK, you do not know everyone's intentions, although where I went--touch wood--I met such sweet people in both years. I went to different places in those two years. So, the biggest learning experience was how to manage myself for four months--my fitness levels, keeping my game at that high level I started with, and even improving it. Those experiences were very important to me,' he said.

He has also earned a coaching certificate given to him by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), making him a Level 2 Core coach. Speaking on what drove him towards this certificate, he said that it was to gain eligibility to play in the UK and his genuine interest in learning new things.

'To be very honest, it was actually a requirement to be eligible to play in the UK. As a professional cricketer, it's an ECB requirement to go through the coaching course because they want you to coach their own players as well--the club players and the upcoming cricketers. Clubs and the ECB want you, as a professional, to share your experiences and training skillsets so they can learn,' he said.

'And I personally have a passion for learning new things. So, I went for the coaching course and learned a lot. I got to understand things from a coach's perspective, which we players sometimes do not grasp, but coaches see from the outside. That is why they are coaches. So, that was a great experience. Yes, I have that curiosity, and we will see--everyone's playing career will end one day--so we will decide then based on what opportunities are available,' he signed off. (ANI)