Yash Dhull: 'My first intent is to always score runs and score them quickly'

Hum Delhi se hain, aur wahan thoda hum aggressive hi khelte hain. [I am from Delhi and there, we play aggressive cricket.]

This one line pretty much sums up Yash Dhull, the cricketer. The 22-year-old is continuously on the move when batting. He walks down to the fast bowlers, gives the spinners the charge and is always on the lookout for the quick singles when not hitting boundaries.

It was the theme of Dhull's innings both times during North Zone's Duleep Trophy match against East Zone at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. The aggression cost him his wicket relatively early in the first innings on 39, but against a weary East Zone attack, he ensured he didn't miss out once again.

Dhull stroked his way to 133 off just 157 balls on the third day of the Duleep Trophy opener, adding a 240-run stand with captain Ankit Kumar as North Zone sealed their semi-final spot. He not only tackled the spinners with a mix of caution and controlled aggression, but he was equally adept against pace.

He scored 86 off 104 against spinners and 47 off 53 against the fast bowlers, with shots all around the field. Apart from defending solidly and using his feet to throw the bowlers off their lengths, he was innovative too: two upper-cuts against fast bowler Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, two paddle sweeps against left-arm spinner Manishi and a thrash through the covers off pacer Mukhtar Hussain.

"My simple plan was that I would play my game. The wicket was seaming a little but I had planned that I will play attacking cricket," Dhull said after his innings. "My first intent is to always score runs and score them quickly. I was also carrying plenty of confidence behind me. And I came here and played accordingly."

Dhull reached his fifty off 49 balls and his century off 112. There were a few nervous moments when he was stuck in the 90s for a while, and he played and missed several times, particularly against Mohammed Shami. But Dhull ensured that he didn't lose focus.

"Sometimes you collect runs quickly and then there are times when you can't score and you have to bide your time", he said. "That's what happened. But I was calm, staying in the present and not taking any pressure. I was waiting for that right ball to score."

Dhull is coming into the Duleep Trophy in top form. He was Delhi's second-highest run-scorer in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy with 444 runs in ten innings at 49.33 and then had a stellar Delhi Premier League where he recorded 435 runs in nine innings at an average of 87 and strike rate of 167.31.

Things are on the up now, but the circumstances were quite different just a year and a bit back in June, when Dhull had to undergo surgery to repair a 17mm hole in his heart. A cricketer is always on the move, jumping from one tournament to another, from one city to another, training, following a strict routine. For close to two months, though, Dhull's life came to a standstill.

"That time taught me a lot about myself, about my game, about my lifestyle, how to grow, how to improve," Dhull said. "At the same time, I have to handle such things. There will be ups and downs. I have to go through them and move on. Right now, I just want to stay in the present. I don't want to think about the past or future.

"So much has happened. Now, I just enjoy my game. I spend time on it and that gives me all the happiness."

Dhull says he "didn't have any option" but to get the surgery done. What he ensured during that time was not to think too much about the future. During the downtime, he also picked up a hobby. "I used to play snooker a lot and spent a lot of time there," Dhull said. "That game also taught me a lot. My mind often used to wander around, I wasn't concentrating much. That game taught me to stay more focused."

With a life-altering experience behind him, Dhull is now trying to take it one day at a time. He next has his sights set on South Zone, and having started on a positive note, he will hope his stocks continue to rise through the season.