From Badlapur to London! Sir Dilip Vengsarkar spots talent in young prodigy Sahil Jadhav

Sahil Haresh Jadhav who lives in Thane, Badlapur is just 15yrs old and at such a small age if a legend of the game Dilip Vengsarkar notices some talent in you, you got to be a special kid. Dilip Vengsarkar who was one of the most elegant batsman to come out from the Indian ranks scored hundreds at a time when Indian team was still growing, when the opposition team bowlers were deadly and there was minimal protection and rules favoring the batsman. The stalwart smashed 8 test hundreds for India in mere 16 tests between 1986 to 1988 which is still an unbeaten record for any top order batsman of India, hence it’s a matter of pride for the young Sahil that he gets spotted by none other than the man himself-Sir Dilip Vengsarkar.

Sahil started playing cricket at the age of just 4.5 under the guidance of Baba Chavan and Mr.Parag Mahale. At the age of 10, Sahil was selected at Bombay Gymkhana while at the age of 12, he was selected for Sir Dilip Vensgarkar Foundation at Oval. Dilip Vengsarkar sir would often keep an eye on his performances and he was the 1st person to felicitate Sahil at the age of 11 in front of the media when he scored his 1st professional hundred.

For a boy coming from a humble background, Sahil would often travel from Badlapur to CST with his grandmother. Such is the passion for cricket at Sahil’s home, his grandmom who is 65yrs of age would regularly take Sahil to Oval, Churchgate and that hasn’t changed till date. At the Dilip Vengsarkar Foundation, Sahil is under the guidance of Surendra Mane sir and Kamat Sir who both have worked hard on him. These two coaches also played a major role in helping Sahil get an admission in Don Bosco High School, Matunga where he eventually went on to become Don Bosco’s frontline consistent top-order batsman across various school level tournaments. Such was his dominance with the bat, Sahil soon led the Under 14 side for his school. Under the guidance of Mr.Rohan Nagvekar sir and Mr.Santosh Chaphe sir, his 136 in the Giles Shield Semi-finals vs VN Sule Guruji and 150* vs Rizvi at the iconic Wankhede in the finals are still etched fresh in the minds of many.

Eventually he was selected for the U14 Mumbai team and now Sir Dilip Vengsarkar has sent Sahil Jadhav to England for a Cricket Extension Programme at London which will be a great opportunity for the young man to work on his skills, gain some overseas experience under the world class facilities and professionals of the game.