The Untold Story of Yash Thakur: Karate, Rejection, A Father’s Dream and India’s Latest Hope

NEW DELHI: Zimbabwe has become India’s preferred destination to bring young talent. Just like in 2024 when Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sai Sudharsan and Tushar Deshpande received their first Indian caps, Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur made their T20I debuts on the tour this year. The series also marked the return of Mayank Yadav after a long injury layoff.Ahead of the tour, the focus was firmly on Mayank and Ashok, both known for consistently running above 150 kmph. However, Thakur hardly participated in the conversation. The Vidarbha paceman has been quietly going about his business, staying away from the hype surrounding the new generation of fast bowlers in India. Why Yash Thakur?Among the current crop of young pacers with Mayank, Ashok and Gurnoor Brar quickly making it to the Indian side, Thakur’s inclusion surprised many.Zimbabwe has long been India’s testing platform for young cricketers. It is a place where young people get a chance to prove themselves and those who perform often strengthen their claim to a permanent place in the party. This time, Thakur grabbed the opportunity with both hands.Despite receiving much less attention than many cricketers, he quietly continued to work hard.Thakur started the series on the bench as Ashok was preferred for the opening T20I. But when his long-awaited opportunity came in the second match, he immediately came into his own. The 27-year-old pacer, who was hardly talked about before the tour, surprised many by hitting 140 kmph in his very first game in international cricket.He bowled heavy lengths and back-of-a-length deliveries consistently to return figures of 4-0-30-2 on debut. He retained his place for the third and final T20I as well and impressed again as he finished with figures of 4-0-45-2.

A reward for patience

At 27, Thakur had to wait much longer than most before donning the India jersey. His greatest strength was his single-minded focus. He never let rejection affect him and remained patient despite being repeatedly overlooked. He always believed that his opportunity would come one day.When it finally did, he made sure to make the most of it.Thakur, who was part of India’s ACC Asia Cup Under-19 winning team in 2016 and took nine wickets during the tournament, also faced plenty of disappointment before finally getting his India cap at the age of 27.He missed the U19 World Cup. He was never considered a child prodigy or quickly relegated to the ranks of the seniors. Instead, he worked hard and steadily built his career through domestic cricket. He made his List A debut for Vidarbha in 2017 before making his first-class and T20 debuts in the following two seasons.His domestic breakthrough came in the 2021–22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he finished as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 18 wickets in seven matches. He also played a key role in Vidarbha’s triumph in the 2025 Irani Cup.While his parents feared failure, Thakur never lost sight of his goal.That’s his story.“Under 16 in tha competition. He didn’t win a single match in the tournament. As parents we were all upset and talked about why he is not taking a chance even though he is in top form. But when he came we asked him, he quietly walked into the room and said ‘mai aur mehnat karunga’. That’s the kind of person he is quiet, wait for your opportunity. He has a very calm and quiet quality that he has. reward,” said Yash’s mother Kajal Thakur in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com.“Rejection mili usko ale wo mehnat karna rha. Bhagwaan kuch achha socha tha uske liye. I know it’s just the beginning for him. He’s a guy who keeps his head down and keeps working hard. I’m so proud of him,” the mother said.

From karate to cricket

Before establishing himself as a fast bowler for India and in the IPL, Thakur’s sporting journey could have taken a completely different path.His father, Ravi Singh Thakur, was a state-level karate champion and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Thakur also excelled in sports, winning medals at junior level competitions. But his mother Kajal was never comfortable seeing her son compete in combat sports. Like most mothers, she was constantly worried about injury. Eventually, her fears led Yash away from Karate and into cricket. “In one tournament it happened in Solapur. He kicked his opponent in the nose during the match and he started bleeding. That really worried me. What if Yash was with the boy. I had to argue with his father several times and somehow managed to get Yash away from Karate,” he said.

“A keeper is like Dhoni”

While his parents were debating his future, Yash had already made up his mind.He wanted to become a cricketer.From the terrace of his house, he would spend hours watching the children train at a nearby cricket academy. He watched batsmen play big shots, bowlers celebrate wickets and wicketkeepers dive behind the stumps. Every day he stood there and imagined himself on that earth. The day he quit karate for good, he headed straight to his father with one request: “mujhe wo academy join karwa do, cricket khelunga.”This decision changed his life.Soon, Yash joined the Praveen Hinganikar Cricket Academy (PHCA) in Nagpur where he came under the guidance of coach Praveen Hinganikar.“Mai puch usse kya banna chahte ho.. the wicketkeeper batsman like Dhoni replied,” Hinganikar recalled.Yash was only 10 years old when he entered the academy. For the first few months, he only trained as a goalkeeper.Then came one training session that completely changed the course of his career.“There were no bowlers in the nets. I asked him to bowl. The moment I saw him bowling, I told him, ‘Abb was holding his gloves nahi pehenna hai, start bowling’,” recalled Hinganikar.This decision was difficult for young Yash to accept.“He was upset for almost a month because he wanted to be a goalkeeper. But his father stood firmly behind me. He told Yash, ‘Whatever Praveen Sir says, you have to do it.’ That support made the difference,” the coach said.

Transformation

Coach Hinganikar quickly realized that Thakur had something special in his bowling action. However, before he could become a true fast bowler, there was one big challenge – his fitness.The young man was overweight and the first step was to transform his body. Challenging fitness exercises, long-distance running, sprint drills and a strict diet became part of his daily routine. Only after the fitness improved, the focus shifted completely to running and bowling. Under the guidance of trainer Prashant, Thakur underwent a remarkable transformation and shed excess weight within a year.At the age of 14, the chubby youngster became a fit and athletic fast bowler.“He is completely different from everyone else. He has a class of his own. He can bowl six yorkers in an over,” said Hinganikar.“Now he’s lost the fat, he’s got all the muscles above his bones. He’s stronger now. You ask him to bowl 7-8 overs at the trot, he can do it easily. He looks like he might not intimidate the batsmen, but he looks deceptive. He’s a great bowler. He can fool the batsmen with his slower and slower yorker coaches.”

Father’s dream

Thakur was supported by his father Ravi Singh Thakur during his journey.Ravi has done everything in his power to help his son achieve his dream, from dropping him off at the academy and picking him up after practice to managing his diet and buying cricket equipment.But he also had his own dream – to see his son play for India one day.That dream finally came true when the 27-year-old made his India debut against Zimbabwe. The Vidarbha pacer appeared in two T20Is and took four wickets in his first international deployment.Sadly, the man who dreamed of that moment wasn’t there to witness it.His father died after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023.Today, Thakur has fulfilled his father’s dream, while his mother continues to live that dream through her son.Before leaving for the Zimbabwe tour, Thakur told TimesofIndia.com:“That was my dad’s dream. And I’m very grateful to him, because from the first day until he was with us, he always supported me. If he was here today, he would be extremely happy.”

An emotional call

After returning from India A’s tour of Sri Lanka, Thakur landed at Nagpur airport when he got a call that he had selected India.The first person he called was his mother.“I was numb on the phone when he called me and told me the news of his debut. He kept saying hello! hello! on the phone but I couldn’t speak. When he came home from Sri Lanka, I just hugged him. He folded his hands in front of his father’s photo and went into his room,” said the mother. She also recalled how determined her husband was to see Yash don the India jersey.“His father used to do sports. He did karate himself. He wanted to do it too. When he switched to cricket, he used to say that if he couldn’t fight for the country, he would make a name for himself one day – India would open up,” she said.

Debut

A day before his debut, Yash called his mother with a simple message.“Mom, you will be watching my match tomorrow.Those few words were enough to leave her feeling emotional.The next day she sat in front of the television watching her son receive his India cap before claiming his first international wicket.At that moment, she looked at her husband’s photo and said quietly:“Look, your child is wearing an Indian cap today.Some people came and said why didn’t I go to see Zimbabwe, I said first match hai. Aage bahot mauke ayenge,” said the mother.