The Ravindra Jadeja connection behind Mohit Ulva's rise

Mohit’s journey began under the tutelage of Mahendrasinh Chauhan, the coach of India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja. After his father, Mahesh Ulva, a cop with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) posted in Jamnagar, found he had an inclination towards cricket, he sent Mohit to train under Chauhan.

“He trained under me for four to five years. At that time, you have no idea whether he is going to play for the country or not. But he maintained good fitness. He started off by bowling spin before I told him to bowl pace. He trained well, maintained discipline, never complained when I made him do the extra yards and the result is there to see,” Chauhan told TOI.

After Mahesh got transferred to Rajkot, his training base shifted to the Railway Cricket Ground in Rajkot under Firoz Bhambaniya and Pratik Mehta.

His father told TOI, “When I noticed him playing gully cricket, he played better than others. I took him to Mahendrasinhji, who instilled discipline in him and honed his skills. After shifting to Rajkot, his sustained training helped him excel in age-group cricket.”

Yere Goud, the head coach of India’s U-19 team, told TOI, “What was special about this knock is he didn’t panic despite the fact that only singles were scored off the first five balls. He backed himself, anticipated the bowler’s line and length to smash that last-ball boundary. His abilities — to play anchor or to go for big hits — were known to us. He showed similar traits against the visiting Australian U-19 team. We just told him it was important to take the game deep. Pakistan were short on time. They had to bowl the part-time spinner in the last five overs.”

The Saurashtra Cricket Association has now decided to add him to its Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) squad.