Shikhar Mohan, another boy from Ranchi, who is making himself count

NEW DELHI: Shikhar Mohan hails from Doranda, a familiar corner of Ranchi known for its educational institutions, PG accommodations and its much-loved litti chokha stall, whose popularity extends beyond the city limits.“Wo mandir ke paas wala shop... kaafi famous hai ab (That stall near the temple is pretty famous now),” said Shikhar, referring to Bhola Litti, a popular eating joint that he considers one of the best places for litti chokha.

The 21-year-old, who has lived all his life in Doranda, is arguably the hottest cricketing talent in India right now. Former India spinner and current Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) official Shahbaz Nadeem calls Shikhar Mohan a prodigious talent.

"Lambi race ka ghoda hai, alag hi talent hai (He is a long-term prospect with exceptional talent)," Nadeem told TimesofIndia.com.

The opener has indeed walked the talk. After an excellent debut season in 2025-26, in which he amassed 613 runs at an average of 55.73, including two centuries, he has started the new season in rollicking fashion, smashing 143 in Jharkhand's opening match against Kerala at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur. The southpaw also made some valuable contributions in the Duleep Trophy final for East Zone, scoring 85 and 52 in both innings, followed by a solid 60 on a green top in Srinagar in the Irani Trophy, playing for Rest of India against defending Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir.

"I want to perform as well as I did last season. The second season is always more important because the opposition knows more about you. Teams analyse your strengths and weaknesses, so you have to keep improving," Shikhar Mohan told this website on the eve of their match.

"More importantly, I want the team to do well. We reached the final last year, and I want us to go one step further. We have won the white-ball tournament (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy).

Now, our plan is to win a red-ball tournament as well. I want to have another good season," he said.Shikhar has already made a great start to the Ranji Trophy season and credits it to the 25-day camp held in Chennai."We had a camp in Chennai for around 25 days before the Duleep Trophy. We trained during the afternoon in the Chennai heat. We also played in the KSCA tournament. Preparation has been on point," he said.

Shikhar admits that he was a bit nervous on the morning of the Duleep Trophy final. Despite training in Chennai for three weeks, it was his first time playing on a red-soil wicket. His state-mate and East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan helped him understand the conditions and guided him during the match.

The duo put on 94 runs for the fourth wicket in the first innings and added 126 runs in the second."I spoke to Ishan bhaiya a lot during the last season as well. He would tell me which shots I should play and which ones I should avoid," he said."In the East, we do not get many red-soil wickets. We generally play on black-soil surfaces, so I did not have much experience batting on red soil. During the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai, Ishan bhai helped me understand which shots were appropriate for those conditions.

For example, he told me there was no need to play the sweep shot in certain situations. He helped me understand what to play and what to avoid. That guidance made a big difference when I was building my innings," Shikhar added.

Shikhar, who was selected for Jharkhand's Under-16 team when he was only 13, has been a prolific run-getter at every age-group level. He enjoyed back-to-back excellent seasons with the Under-23 side in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy.

In the 2023-24 season, he scored 623 runs, including two hundreds and three fifties. He continued his run-scoring spree the following season, scoring 887 runs, which helped him earn a call-up to the senior side.Despite his impressive run with the bat, big, headlines-grabbing scores were missing. Shikhar realised that he was experiencing lapses in concentration midway through his innings and received help from current Jharkhand coach Ratan Kumar and former Jharkhand veteran Ishank Jaggi.

"There are two coaches who have helped me a lot. One is Ratan Kumar, who is currently our senior head coach. I also speak a lot with Ishank Jaggi bhaiya. He has helped me both mentally and with my batting. He was my Under-19 coach and helped me a lot during that phase. These two have played a big role in my development," he said."In my first year of Under-19 cricket, I scored around 550 runs, with most of my scores in the 70s and 80s.

The following year, I wanted to focus more and convert those starts into bigger scores."Before facing a ball, I talk to myself. I remind myself to watch the ball and stay focused. That has helped me a lot. Jaggi bhai also helped me with this, especially when he was with the Under-19 team. I started concentrating more and focusing on one ball at a time. That approach has really helped me," Shikhar explained.

During the Ranji Trophy camp in Chennai, Shikhar worked extensively on his batting, focusing particularly on playing close to his body, an aspect of his game he has worked relentlessly to improve."Before the season, I did a lot of batting drills. I focus on playing close to my body and working on my drives because those are the areas where I score most of my runs. I know my scoring areas, so I worked on them," the Jharkhand opener said."This season, I have concentrated on playing close to my body. I visualise myself playing within a box, keeping my shots close to my body. That has helped me a lot. As you saw in the Irani Trophy, the wicket was green.

I kept reminding myself to play close to my body and avoid playing shots away from it. I think that is very important for an opener. You need to play straight because the SG ball deviates a lot, even after 10-12 overs.

You have to be even more focused after that period. For the first 40 balls, my focus is on playing close to my body," he said.Shikhar, who opens in all three formats, says his preparation for each format is different."The preparation for red-ball and white-ball cricket is very different. You have to go back to your basics and make adjustments according to the format. In white-ball cricket, you need to be more proactive and play certain shots regularly.

"Meanwhile, in red-ball cricket, you cannot play every shot in the same way. You have to work on the shots that are effective in white-ball cricket and practise them through specific drills.

You need to prepare differently for each format and understand which shots are appropriate for the situation," he said.Shikhar Mohan has played some excellent knocks in the Duleep Trophy final and the Irani Trophy, but the innings closest to his heart remains the one he scored against Uttar Pradesh in the Cooch Behar Trophy.

"I remember a match against Uttar Pradesh at the Under-19 level. I was batting on 20 when a ball hit me on the chest.

I went off the field and returned after we lost two wickets. We were chasing a target of 400 on the final day, and I scored an unbeaten 100. We fell 40 runs short when the day ended. That innings remains very special to me," he said.

The youngster is already on the radar of several IPL franchises and has attended a trial with five-time champions Mumbai Indians. "It went well," he said.For now, Shikhar's focus remains on building on his impressive start and establishing himself as one of India's most consistent domestic batters. But with runs flowing and his ability to convert starts into big scores improving, the left-handed opener is beginning to make a compelling case for himself. If he maintains this form, a future push for India's Test opening slot may not be outside the realm of possibility.