Keshav Singh Dalal : A story of Failures, Comeback and Success !

“Giving up has never been an option for me. Every Time I’ve been dealt a setback, I work even harder towards a comeback.” said Keshav Singh Dalal when asked how he bounced back from failures at selection trials.

Keshav had been trying to get into the Delhi Cricket setup since he was 12 and after three consecutive failures at selection trials for the U-14 and the U-16 teams, it would have been an easier option to just quit but not for Keshav. He came back from those setbacks with persistence and hard work and eventually got selected for the U-16 and U-19 Delhi teams.

Keshav’s cricketing journey started at the Gush Cricket Club in Delhi under the watchful eyes of former Indian Test Player, Gurusharan Singh. He saw a spark in him straight away and a journey towards the dream of representing India began !

Playing at the U-14 age group, Keshav was already excelling and was a class above his companions. He was winning Best Batsman and Man of the match awards in National Tournaments but he had a bigger dream, to represent his beloved Delhi.

2017 proved to be a breakthrough year for the young Wicketkeeper-Batsman ! On his first international tour to South Africa, Keshav ended up being the tournament’s highest run scorer. The runs kept flowing throughout the year as he scored 2489 runs at the average of 43.66 , which included 6 centuries and 18 half centuries ! Keshav capped off the best year of his cricketing career by earning a call-up for Delhi State U-16 team !

In 2018 and 2019, Keshav not only improved on his batting but also on his keeping. “Rishabh Pant and I train at the same Club (Sonnet Cricket Club)  Under Coach Tarak Sinha (Dronachary Award) and sometimes I do get a chance to interact with him. He always tells me to work on my wicket keeping to have a successful career and I’ve been trying to improve in that department.”

Keshav’s hard work behind the stumps was patent as he notched up impressive numbers of catches and stumping’s in Under 19 Cooch Behar Trophy for Season 2019 and 2020.

Not only is he dangerous from behind the stumps but also when he is batting in those 22 yards. Keshav’s striker rate and average has seen a steady rise throughout the last 2 years and he is aiming for bigger things in the coming year.

“I’ve been working on my fitness and workouts during this lockdown,” said Keshav. “I’m also having keeping and batting drills with my father so I’m in good shape and ready to play cricket when the tournaments begin.”

Not only is Keshav excellent at cricket but he is brilliant at academics too ! Keshav passed his 12th standard Board Exams with 91% in 2020 and plans to continue to work hard in both Cricket and academics.

Still on 18, Keshav will be aiming to follow-in the footsteps of his idol, Rishabh Pant, as the young Delhi Wicket keeper-Batsman aims for big performances in the coming years.

• AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• Excellence in sports Award (Best Sports person of the Year) by Gyan Bharati School for the year 2019-20 at the Annual Prize Distribution function at school. 
• Outstanding achievement in cricket award by Gyan Bharati School for the year 2017-2018 at Annual prize distribution in school.
• Received best batsman of All India School Nationals Games (SGFI) from Dilip Vengsarkar at Mumbai for the year 2017-18.
• Total Man Of The Match Awards — 90
• Total Best Batsman of tournament Awards —- 28
• Total best wicket keeper of tournament Awards —- 8
• Total Centuries — 38
• Total Half Centuries (50+Score) — 125
• Highest Score —- 201*