How does it feel when your hobby becomes a career option? Ask Ajay Yadav, a medium-pacer from the Jharkhand Ranji Trophy team. <img alt="Ajay Yadav" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/dec/Ajay-Yadav.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 811px;" /> Jharkhand&rsquo;s Ajay Yadav bowls during a practice session at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK Yadav, 26, has come a long way from being a milkman to a cricketer. Whenever he is not donning whites, Yadav, who hails from Ranchi (the city India skipper MS Dhoni resides in) does what he&rsquo;s been doing for years: deliver milk to households early in the morning. Hard times... &ldquo;Ever since my parents passed away (mother in 2007 and father in 2009), my brother and I have been taking care of the business. At times it gets a bit difficult to juggle my schedule, but I can&rsquo;t do anything. Milking cows and buffaloes is our main source of income. Cricket has made a difference but I am still establishing myself,&rdquo; Yadav told MiD DAY on the eve of Jharkhand&rsquo;s Ranji Trophy Group &lsquo;A&rsquo; match against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Yadav, however, is not aware when cricket turned into a serious career option. &ldquo;There was ample time in the afternoons after I finished milking the cows and delivering the milk. My brother and I would play tennis ball cricket. People would appreciate my bowling. I started bowling more. I don&rsquo;t know when I got serious about it. I never imagined all this,&rdquo; he said. So, how does he juggle his schedule with cricketing commitments? &ldquo;I get up by 4 in the morning and finish delivering milk by 6.30. After that I go for my practice sessions. When I am not in Ranchi, my brother or my nephew handle it,&rdquo; said Yadav, who had to sell a few of his cows and buffaloes for the medical treatment of his brother last year. &ldquo;With the money from cricket I was able to buy a few cows again,&rdquo; informed Yadav.u00a0This is Yadav&rsquo;s second first-class season. He claimed a fifer in his first match of the season against Odisha in Cuttack. In his debut season, Yadav claimed 23 wickets in five matches. &ldquo;My aim is to make the batsman play. That is the only way to get him out,&rdquo; said Yadav, who feels both his outswingers and inswingers are his main weapons. Jharkhand&rsquo;s former coach Tarak Sinha, who is also the guru of Shikhar Dhawan, was instrumental in giving Yadav a break in first-class cricket last season. &ldquo;I was a net bowler when Sinha Sir saw me. He asked me whether I had played for the state. I told him it was in the U-22. He supported me and brought me back in the team. Our current coach (Subroto Banerjee), my captain (Shahbaz Nadeem) and the support staff have been very encouraging,&rdquo; said Yadav. Any talk of Jharkhand without Dhoni is incomplete. Asked whether he has met his senior teammate, Yadav said: &ldquo;I have met Mahi bhai only once when he was playing for Jharkhand. After he became an international player, it is difficult to see him.&rdquo;

Medium-pacer, who milks cows when not playing cricket, talks to MiD DAY about how he juggles around his schedule

Jharkhand's Ajay Yadav milks cows for a living

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Ganeshotsav 2026

Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / Jharkhand's Ajay Yadav milks cows for a living

Jharkhand's Ajay Yadav milks cows for a living

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Ganeshotsav 2026