U-19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull makes return from minor heart surgery

Yash Dhull, who captained India to the 2022 U-19 World Cup triumph, has returned to competitive cricket after undergoing a minor heart surgery.

Rajesh Nagar, Dhull's coach for more than a decade, told PTI that the top-order batter went under the knife in the first half of July. The coach revealed that it was during the U-23 high performance camp at the NCA, a small hole was detected in Dhull's heart when routine scans were conducted.

"It was not a major surgery. It took him about 10 to 15 days to recover. He is not 100 percent at the moment in terms of his game and fitness, I would say he is about 80 percent but good enough," said Nagar on Wednesday.

A hole in the heart is usually a birth defect but surprisingly in Dhull's case, it was only detected while he was at the NCA in June-July.

"It was a small hole and has been there since birth but it was detected now. He will be back to his best very soon," added Nagar.

Dhull is currently playing for Central Delhi Kings in the inaugural Delhi Premier League. In five innings, he has totalled 93 runs at a strike rate of 113.41 with the highest score being 52.

At 21, Dhull has already experienced the extreme highs and lows of professional cricket.

He was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket after he led from the front in the Caribbean to steer India to an U-19 World Cup title. He made his Ranji Trophy in February 2022 upon his arrival from the Caribbean and made two hundreds in as many innings on his first-class debut against Tamil Nadu.

Dhull was named captain of Delhi team for the following Ranji Trophy season but due to form and ever present politics in Delhi, he was sacked as the skipper earlier this year following the team's loss to Puducherry in the 2024 Ranji Trophy opener.

Dhull has also played for India A but questions over his technique has kept him out of selectors' radar. In the IPL, he has not got enough opportunities to prove himself, having got four games for Delhi Capitals. PTI BS ATK ATK