The University of the West Indies fast bowlers at the 2010 American College Cricket Championship reminded me some of the feared West Indian pacers – they were fast, and bowled with attitude, hit them and they came charging up determined to let it fly faster, and at your chest or helmet.
Ankit Sehgal
Ankit Sehgal
The pitch was fast and bouncy, and the Umpires were lenient with bouncers, so it was a thrill to watch as Ankit Sehgal (MC) took on the UWI fast bowlers. Sehgal struck 49 arrogant runs, in his 2nd game of the day, having scored 54 in an earlier game. The faster they came, the faster they went as he is among the hardest hitters of the ball in USA cricket.
Ankit Sehgal has starred in the Washington Cricket League too. In 2008 he made 175* in a 40 over game, blasting 17 sixes and 10 fours. He also scored the fastest 50, in 16 balls, of the season. With the ball he took 17 wickets at a 13.29 average.
Then in 2009 he was the Cricketer of the Year for the Washington Cricket League. Sehgal again top-scored with 132*, and amassed 579 runs at an average of 57.90. Taking 21 wickets with his spin (16.14 average), he also won the WCL Best All Rounder Award.
Sehgal also played in another League, the WMCB (Washington Metropolitan Cricket Board) where he won 5 awards too.
Ankit Sehgal played cricket at his High school, Delhi Public High School then for clubs that the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Schweg played for. At 18 he came to the US and began school at Montgomery College.
Now Sehgal is at the crossroads of his cricket career, keep playing in the US and hope to make the USA team? Or go abroad where other opportunities beckon.