By Paritosh Pramanik
Oct 25, 2025
HE HAS walked the tight rope to reach this far. There were struggles which he does not want to remember. Ganesh Bhosle, the 24-year-old included in the Vidarbha 17-member squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Jharkhand starting Saturday, wants to remain in the present.
With premier left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey on India ‘A’ duty, Bhosle stands a great chance to fulfil his first dream: playing Ranji Trophy for Vidarbha.
But the soft-spoken right-arm spinner is not spending sleepless nights thinking about the debut game. He only wants to keep working hard and let the selectors do their job.
On the eve of Vidarbha’s second round match against Jharkhand here at Jamtha stadium, Bhosle’s eyes panned around the ground again and again as he spoke at length about his journey from Akola’s shanty house, to losing his parents at a tender age, to making it to various age group Vidarbha teams.
“I am not thinking about making a debut tomorrow. It will come at the opportune time,” said Bhosle talking exclusively with ‘The Hitavada’.
“I have struggled since my childhood but I don’t want to remember those days. I lost my parents at an early age. (He lost his father Bharat when he was 11 years old and mother Bharti in 2020 due to COVID). I want to live in the present. Anybody, who loses his parents early, knows what struggle is. My elder brother helped me a lot in my cricketing career,” said Bhosle who wishes to wipe out all those memories. When asked as to whom he would dedicate his debut game to if he plays tomorrow? “My mother Bharti,” pat came the reply with a glow in his eyes.
“Yes, my first Ranji game would be for her. I lost her to COVID and I would dedicate it to her,” he added.
Bhosle’s cricketing journey started when he was 10 years old. He used to venture at a small ground in Akola and watch seniors play.
“I was sort of a ball-boy there. I used to collect and throw the balls back to the seniors. At times, when some players used to come early to the ground, I would try to bowl them. There was one Tendulkar sir (don’t know his first name) who used to teach me a bit of bowling,” Bhosle remembered his early days in Akola.
As he grew older, the spinner got selected in various age group teams of Vidarbha and steadily attracted selectors’ attention.
From being stand-by in the Under-14 age group to getting a chance in the Under-16 Vidarbha side, Ganesh burnt midnight oil during VCA’s camps and got rewarded.
“I got a chance to play for the U-16 team where I took 12 wickets from two games. This helped me get selected for the Central Zone team in 2017-18,” Bhosle recalled.
“I learnt a lot during the CZ Kanpur camp, even though I did not get to play any matches.”
Bhosle was part of Vidarbha U-19 squad which finished runners-up in the Cooch Behar Trophy where he took 10 wickets in a match.
The COVID break disrupted his journey a bit but the Byjus T20 next year gave him more wings to fly. “I took 20 wickets from six matches which helped me get selected for Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in 2021-22,” stated Bhosle.
The selectors kept him in the loop as he was again picked for the Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy teams.
The moment came last year when Bhosle took 35 wickets in Col CK Nayudu Trophy forcing selectors to give him another shot in Ranji.
“Last year, I took 35 wickets from seven matches in the CK Nayudu Trophy. This year at the Captain Thimmaiah Memorial KSCA Trophy in Bengaluru, I have taken 10-11 wickets from two games.”
“When I was around 14 years of age I never thought of playing competitive cricket. But when I reached 16, I started dreaming of playing Ranji for Vidarbha. After Ranji, my ultimate dream is to play for India one day,” Bhosle said.
Bhosle is spinning his web and collecting wickets in heaps. His dream of making a Ranji debut is not far away which he would dedicate his first game to his late mother ‘Maa Bharti’.
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