When Ayush Doseja turned 15 he gave up eating sweets and carbohydrates as part of his strict diet plan. That was him, a Virat Kohli fan, leaving no stone unturned in trying to emulate his idol.
His coach Ajay Choudhary, worried about the teenager not getting healthy nourishment, advised him to at least eat fruits as a source of sugar.
By the time he had turned eight, Doseja was playing Under-10 age-group cricket matches with the leather ball. When he was 14, he featured in senior DDCA league games facing 20-year-old fast bowlers.
On Day 2 of Delhi’s Group D Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad, all the years of hard work and sacrifice paid off for 23-year-old Doseja when he scored a double century on his first-class debut — 209 from 279 balls with 25 fours and five sixes. Twenty-five-year-old opener Sanat Sangwan, playing only his eighth first-class game, impressed with an unbeaten 211 as he and Doseja added 319 for the fourth wicket.
Delhi declared at 529 for 4 with Hyderabad 77 for 1 at stumps. Doseja and Sangwan have played age group cricket together, so the familiarity helped them build a huge partnership.
At stumps on Day 1, Doseja was on the cusp of a century, unbeaten on 97. “I went out to bat today with the mindset that I would play positive cricket and play the ball on merit and won’t think about the number of runs I have to score. Everything worked in my favour, so I am happy,” Doseja told The Indian Express. “I have been preparing for so many years. I am fortunate that I have a great support system in my family and coaches and that has helped me do well. I want to do well in all three formats,” Doseja said.
Coach Choudhary advised him not to think that he needed just three runs more but to approach Day 2 like he was batting on zero and not on 97. “Ayush has worked hard for so many years. I wanted him to get the reward for his hard work. Now that he has scored a double century on debut, I don’t want him to get carried away. He just needs to do what he has been doing all these years, training hard, being focused and staying grounded,” Choudhary, in-charge of Ravi Brothers Cricket Club, said.
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Doseja made a mark in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) earlier this year. His whirlwind knock of 101 off 54 balls for West Delhi Lions went in vain as the team lost to Purani Dilli 6 by 15 runs. However, his clean hitting stood out.
A setback in the DPL in the previous season made him go back to the drawing board. In the 2024 DPL, he played just two games and was disappointed about being benched. But he took it on his chin.
“I used it as a motivation. If I didn’t get enough opportunities then that means I have scope for improvement. I worked really hard on improving my T20 game and also days (red-ball) cricket. I worked on power-hitting, practicing on 16 yard wickets while facing fast bowlers. Trying to hit boundaries while batting on spinning tracks so if I get a good wicket to bat on then I can score runs,” Doseja said.
He was in line to make his Ranji Trophy debut last season, but he twisted his ankle during a training session and missed out. If not for the twist of fate, Doseja may well have been in the team when Virat Kohli played his first Ranji Trophy game in over a decade against Railways at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
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“When I was 16, I was unfit as a cricketer, and everyone used to tell me you bat well but you have to focus on fitness. I worked a lot on fitness and my diet. I had cut out sugar and carbs to zero for two years to get fit. Virat Kohli is my idol so being as fit as possible was a must.”
