The Ranji season rolled on, match after match testing the mettle of every player in the Hyderabad squad. For Aarav, each fixture brought fresh lessons, new challenges, and a growing sense that he truly belonged here. By the end of it all, his name sat proudly in the charts — 8th highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Not bad for a debutant who had started the season as a promising, but largely unknown, young seamer.
There were standout moments that defined his journey. Against Karnataka in the zonal fixture, Hyderabad had been on the ropes chasing a modest total. The top order had collapsed in a flurry of edges and misjudged drives. Aarav, walking in at number nine, decided he wouldn't just stand there and defend. He gritted his teeth, playing with the straightest bat possible, and put on a stubborn 48-run stand with the number ten batsman. It wasn't flashy cricket — just patient, sensible batting — but it dragged Hyderabad within touching distance of a win they eventually sealed. The dressing room had erupted that day, because it wasn't just about the runs; it was about the fight.
But it was the match against Mumbai that really drew eyes beyond Hyderabad. Facing a bowling attack stacked with experience and raw pace, Hyderabad's middle order was shredded by lunch on day two. When Aarav came in, the scoreboard was a miserable 156/7, still 70 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. Mumbai's bowlers were circling like sharks, and the crowd was buzzing with the scent of a quick finish.
What followed was a quiet defiance. Aarav, calm but calculating, decided his wicket would be the hardest to earn that day. He worked singles, blocked the good balls, and occasionally unleashed a clean cover drive when the fielders got lazy. With the lower order, he stitched a crucial 63-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Not only did Hyderabad avoid the follow-on, but they also clawed back into the match, forcing Mumbai to bat again with a slim but meaningful deficit.
That innings, modest in numbers but huge in context, earned him a few nods from the selection committee members in the stands. The murmurs of "promising all-round potential" reached his ears later through a teammate. But cricket's ladder is steep — this time, the call for the next stage of representation never came. The names announced for the higher squads didn't include his.
Aarav took it in stride. He knew the game well enough to understand that recognition doesn't always come all at once. What mattered to him was that the Hyderabad Cricket Association was thrilled. In the small felicitation at the HCA headquarters after the season, the president personally congratulated him, praising both his discipline with the ball and his unexpected grit with the bat. "You've given us moments to remember," he said, handing Aarav a plaque engraved with Debut Season Achievement. It wasn't a national call-up, but it was a sign he was doing something right.
Hyderabad's campaign itself had been solid. Out of all the teams, they finished 4th overall and 1st in their zone — a feat the squad hadn't achieved in years. For Aarav, standing alongside his teammates for the end-of-season team photo, it was hard not to smile. He wasn't just a rookie anymore; he was part of a unit that fought hard, won respect, and made people take notice.
The season had started with uncertainty and ended with quiet confidence. As Aarav packed his kit bag for the last time that year, he knew one thing for certain: this was only the first chapter of a much longer story.