Once back from injury, Yo Mahesh, who was not even part of the probables, was positive after having done well in the Tamil Nadu Premier League before his return to domestic cricket
A four-year break is considered quite long if a cricketer aspires to play for India. Why, it might even end careers abruptly.
Not for Tamil Nadu all-rounder Yo Mahesh, though.
Returning from a four-year injury break, the 29-year-old played a heroic unbeaten knock of 103 (216b, 9x4s, 4x6s) to ensure that Tamil Nadu take the first innings lead against last year's runners-up Mumbai on Day Three of the Group C Ranji Trophy encounter at the MCA Academy here on Thursday.
A half-century stand with centurion Baba Indrajith coupled with crucial partnerships with the last two wickets of Rahil Shah and K Vignesh was the highlight of Yo Mahesh's stubbornness.
"Initially, I was only going to support Inder (Indrajith). Later on, after he got out, I had to take more responsibility. I had to play along with the next two batsmen, tell them what's happening. What the bowler is doing and what they are trying to do. So, I had to read the situation accordingly," Yo Mahesh said after the day's play.
This was his maiden first-class ton, and it couldn't have come at a better time for him, returning to the game after four years.
While he was at the peak of his career, Yo Mahesh suffered a cartilage tear in both his knees, which put a break on his career. Yet, he remained positive throughout.
"It's been a great journey for the last four years, not playing because of injury. It feels really nice to be back in the TN set-up and performing well for the team," he said.
"It was definitely a tough phase for me. I had missed out on four years of a good time of my career. But I would like to take the positives out of it. I learnt a lot. Both in my cricket and in my personal life. It was a long journey, but it taught me a lot," he added.
The Chennai-born cricketer said he suffered that career-threatening injury due to an overkill of cricket.
"It was a normal overload injury. I was playing continuously for eight years before that. For one-and-a-half years, I didn't know what exactly the problem was. So, I decided to go to London to meet Andy Willams. He's an orthopedic surgeon.
"It was a big decision because I had to put my savings from my pocket to go for the operation. But obviously cricket is my bread and butter, so I thought I had to give myself a chance to get back to what I like to do the most," he said.
Once back from injury, Yo Mahesh, who was not even part of the probables, was positive after having done well in the Tamil Nadu Premier League before his return to domestic cricket.
"I had decent club matches in Chennai and was really confident about performing for TN as well. I carried that confidence of performing well in club matches and I took that forward in this match," he said.
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