Menaria great talent : Dravid

Ashok Menaria came into RR as a young boy, having scored 121 in a Ranji match. He led India Under 19 team to 2-1 victory in Australia. Also in the U 19 WC. He does not lack self confidence, as his assault on DD proved.

He hit three mighty sixes in a blistering innings of 22, off 15 balls!

His rise is reminiscent of Yuvraj Singh.

Well he has a mentor, Dravid. But Dravid insists that "he has a long way to go, needs to work on many aspects of the game, but then he is an exciting prospect"

The Udaipur born lad has already edged other prospects like Bisla, Jaggi, Mayank Agarwal and even Manoj Tiwari.

That is the glory of the IPL. There are many new finds, like Valthaty, Chipli, Menaria etc.

Ashok Menaria was modest about his performance. " My style of play is naturally aggressive, and I hopefully should not have any problems in adapting to this format as far as skills are concerned".

Ashok hit centuries in the quarter final, semi and final of the Ranji Trophy. No wonder he has been blooded this year for the Rajastan Royals and he is in the company of world class players like Shane Warne and Dravid, which will improve his cricketing skills !