Left-handed opener Tushar Raheja is looking forward to making his debut in the Sankar Cement-TNPL in the ongoing 2018 season after being picked up by the Siechem Madurai Panthers.

“I began playing cricket at the age of 10 and over the next two years I started taking the game seriously. My school, St Bede’s (Chennai), has a very good team, and I gained a lot from my time there,” the 17-year-old lad said.

The youngster made headlines for two consecutive match-winning innings for his school last year. He scored 110 to take the side into the final and then top-scored again with 62 to help St Bede’s clinch the TNCA C Ramaswamy Trophy (under-16 city schools tournament).

Tushar performed well for Young Stars CC in the TNCA first division league in 2017 and was picked up bySiechem Madurai Panthers in this year’s Sankar Cement-TNPL Player draft.

“It is definitely a great experience to be here (Sankar Cement-TNPL), sharing the dressing room with experienced players is very helpful for a youngster like me,” Tushar said.

“My game is based on instincts, I feel I time the ball really well and I love to dominate the bowling. I try to hit early boundaries and put the bowling side under pressure. Being a left-hander, slog-sweep is my favorite stroke,” the promising youngster added.

“I admire Yuvraj Singh a lot, for the way he fought tough circumstances to make a comeback, it is really inspiring,” he concluded.