"Nobody taught me six hitting" - Atharva Kale, a Rohit Sharma admirer finding his feet in a different role [Exclusive]

When Arshin Kulkarni holed out for 77 in the 18th over of the Maharashtra Premier League 2025 final, the Eagle Nashik Titans still required 32 runs off 14 deliveries. The Titans had six wickets in hand but for an equation of that magnitude in a big final, you wouldn't be faulted into thinking that the writing was on the wall.

A penny for Atharva Kale's thoughts then as he walked into the cauldron of the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on the outskirts of Pune? Sparse batting opportunities, a role completely different to what he was often used to playing and a mere 54 runs at an average of 13.50 later, here he was, tasked with winning the final.

What ensued was nothing short of dramatic. As any batter would, Kale swung the first ball he faced as hard as he could. It should have been a straightforward take for deep mid-wicket, only for the catch to go down before it rolled to the boundary. Nikhil Kadam was then entrusted with bowling the penultimate over where, a four and a single later, Kale found himself on strike again.

With 21 needed off 10, he swung and missed before the keeper made a mess while trying to collect the ball, conceding four byes in the process. Kale bludgeoned the next delivery straight at the bowler, who couldn't stick onto what would have been a specky. Such was the power on the stroke though that the ricochet took the ball traveling to the fence even as Kadam was wincing in pain with a bleeding finger.

That wouldn't have hurt as much as what followed though. Having bowled the previous delivery from around the wicket, Kadam went back over the wicket and dished one in the slot. Kale slogged across the line and should have picked out deep mid-wicket this time but down went a regulation chance as the ball cleared the ropes.

When the last over began, the Titans needed six runs to lift the trophy. Kale pumped the first ball aiming to clear long off and to the disbelief of just about everyone present, the ball grazed the fielder's fingertips again before going the distance, sending the Titans into euphoric celebrations while leaving the Raigad Royals wondering what just hit them.

It sure was Kale's lucky day! And it was some night for him to enjoy the rub of the green too.

"Sometimes you need luck too", Kale admits in a candid chat with Sportskeeda. "This season, I didn’t get a lot of chances to bat. Generally I bat higher up the order but this year my role was different. I usually bat at number 3 or 4. It was a different situation and I hadn’t batted much in the tournament so I wasn’t quite in that touch. God obviously saw that I’ve been working very hard so luck also went my way. My intention was to win the game for the team. I never thought about myself. So luck also favored me and we won."

It was a case of confidence too - something that Kale could have so easily been down on having not had much of a chance with the bat all season. The situation he strode out to face in the final was the ultimate acid test. But it was something he was well prepared for.

"The thing is, I have a very good practice routine. Right from a month prior to the MPL I was practicing match simulations. We were keenly practicing situations like 40 off 3 overs or 30 off 2 overs. So it didn’t feel different for me since my preparation was good. There was pressure but there was that confidence too that I could do it," says Kale.

Kale's returns in MPL 2024 were in stark contrast to the recent season - he was the fourth highest run-scorer with 378 runs while topping the sixes charts with 32 hits over the fence, all while manning the middle-order. Such was the form shown by his teammates this time around that as many as four Titans batters, including Kulkarni, tallied 200 or more runs for the season, leaving Kale waiting for his turn.

"Obviously it’s tough because I was the highest run-getter for my franchise in two tournaments - the MPL last year and then the Corporate Trophy too for Eagle Nashik Titans. Whatever it is, it’s a team game. Jo bhi role milta hai woh chup chaap karna padhta hai (Whatever role you get, you have to do it silently). So my mindset was to do well in whatever chances I got", says Kale.

Atharva Kale and cricket - a match arranged by a cricket-enthusiastic father

Kale doesn't hail from a family that played the sport but passion for cricket was always in his blood. His father, a primary school teacher in Pune, was drawn to the sport and so developed a dream he wished to live via his son. Kale's mother is a homemaker and his elder sister a doctor, but the love for the game ran through the family.

From facing thousands of balls thrown by his father in the house backyard, Kale enrolled at Cadence Cricket Academy, run by former BCCI Secretary and Maharashtra Cricket Association President Ajay Shirke, at the age of ten. No sooner did he find himself part of the Maharashtra under-13 setup.

"About 1000-1200 kids had come for the selection process for the Maharashtra U13 team and ten were selected, among whom I was one. That’s where I got that push," says a beaming Kale.

A right-handed batter by trade, he was inspired by two players who would go on to become household names in Indian cricket.

"My favorite player is Rohit Sharma. Skill-wise, his batting is different. Everyone knows the kind of timing and talent he has, batters don’t have that today. Work ethic wise I really like Virat Kohli’s worth ethic. I try to follow that - his preparation, his routine. I’m trying to follow that and see how it helps me," says Kale.

Kale's fanboy moment materialized into fruition when he swiftly moved up the ranks and was part of an U19 camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru as he bumped into Rohit, albeit briefly.

As part of the cricketing ecosystem in Maharashtra, Kale has rubbed shoulders with two IPL veterans - Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rahul Tripathi, the latter of whom inspires him.

"Rahul Tripathi’s work ethics are really good. His fitness, his practice - he focuses a lot on that. I got to learn a lot from Rutu too when we played together in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was my room partner too so I learnt quite a lot from his batting and his game sense. Recently I couldn’t get to spend a lot of time with him but whenever I do I try to learn from him."

Incidentally, he was just a couple of days shy of turning 19 when he made his senior domestic debut for Maharashtra, smashing a breezy 28-ball 34 batting at number 5 to help his side to victory in their Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Goa in Alur.

Two more opportunities came his way at numbers 5 and 6, even as majority of his runs through the age group system have come in the top-order. Nearly seven years on though, the wait to play another Vijay Hazare Trophy game continues.

Belief amidst a stop-start journey

Kale's strengths lie in playing as many authentic cricket shots in the V as he can - no surprises then that he was a coach's delight. While he has made an attempt to up his range and practice shots behind the wicket, there is sound reasoning behind sticking to what works best for him.

"Last year, the wicket was really good during the MPL. When the wicket is good I back my ability to hit sixes down the ground. I know that even if I time it 70-80 per cent well it will go for six so that feels a safer option for me. I do practice shots behind the wicket but on a good wicket I prefer playing straight. I’ve also seen a lot of legendary finishers - when they finish the game, they often hit sixes straight down the ground," says Kale.

It certainly worked as 32 sixes in the Titans' run into the final in MPL 2024 showed.

"Nobody taught me six-hitting. My bat flow is natural. I have that natural ability so I don’t need to put in too much effort or practice much of it. But I do practice range hitting," he says.

An aspect of his exploits that stood out was how unfazed he seemed against the away turning delivery. Even as left-arm spinners hold their own as an invaluable defensive commodity in the T20 format against right-handers, Kale was not perturbed.

"As a professional cricketer you face left-arm spinners and leg-spinners from your early days. If you want to play at the top level you have to be able to dominate them. A lot of times, teams or captains think that you need a left-handed batter to counter left-arm spin or leg-spin but I feel that a right-hander faces them all year and scores against them too. So as a batter it’s not good to think of whether you want to face a left-arm or right-arm bowler. A good batter will score off any bowler," he says.

Yet somehow, despite a dominant campaign with the bat in MPL 2024, a solitary game followed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when Maharashtra's fate in the tournament was written. Reflecting on the same, he says:

"Out of the top ten run-getters in the MPL, nine of them were openers. I was the only one who batted at number 4 and still made it to the top five. I thought I’ll play in every match and do well. I was in the IPL auction list as well. It does feel bad. Such things are not in my control. I got to debut in our last match in the SMAT, batted across the last 3-4 overs and batted alright. Let’s see how it goes this year."

How has he taken to life down the order though?

"You have to be a match-winner at that spot. Success ratio is on the lower side there - maybe 40 to 60 per cent. That’s where you need to be backed and given enough chances. And if you fail once or twice, no player should be judged on the basis of that," he says.

The story wasn't too dissimilar as far as his first-class debut was concerned, getting to play a solitary match on a spicy Agartala surface against Tripura in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy before finding himself out of the playing XI. COVID-19 then happened and like many young cricketers in the country, Kale's progress took a hit as a result.

But it's the belief that things will take a turn for the better soon that has kept Kale, who will turn 26 in September, going. It was that belief, after all, that saw him ace a thrilling chase in the MPL final even as the odds were stacked against him throughout the season.

It's fitting in many ways that the man he looks up to was at a crossroads with his own international career at one point. What happened after a change in role, is history, as Rohit Sharma's trajectory testifies. Kale has a long way to go in his own journey but what's life without some inspiration anyway?

One big break is often what it takes to not look back. A bankable finisher is hard to come by after all and with IPL teams having an eye on Kale's ability to play those impactful knocks, his calling may just be around the corner. The rub of the green going his way in the MPL final could just be a sign of his higher aspirations coming true sooner than later.

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Edited by Sooryanarayanan Sesha