Switching formats in a packed cricket calendar is perhaps one of the biggest challenges for modern-day players. Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter and captain Aryan Juyal is at one such juncture even before the domestic season has picked up pace in India. He is set to turn out for Central Zone in his third consecutive Duleep Trophy appearance from Sunday. That semi-final against East Zone will be merely four days after Juyal's last appearance for Gorakhpur Lions in the ongoing UPT20 League.
Even while playing the shortest format, Juyal hasn't missed an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming red-ball games.
"It's the third time I've been picked for Duleep Trophy and I'm grateful for it," Juyal told Cricinfo during the UPT20 league. "Duleep is the biggest league in domestic cricket after the Ranji Trophy, so it feels pretty good."
In the Duleep Trophy, Juyal will be playing under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar and is again going to rub shoulders with more experienced players who have tasted top-flight cricket in the IPL or on the international stage. Juyal, 24, is yet to make his IPL debut but he has been part of Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants squads for a few seasons.
"Last year in Duleep Trophy, Kuldeep [Yadav] bhai was there, Rajat Patidar bhaiya was also there," Juyal says. "I get to learn a lot from them. It's very important to learn from such players because you also learn by watching, just like learning while playing. One can watch their good habits and add them to your game. I observe and learn even the minor things and their processes and try to incorporate them into my game. More than the game, it's about life, because you also get to learn many things about life from such players, like their views and perspective towards things."
Juyal has been playing all three formats for UP since making his debut at the age of 16 in 2018. He has eight centuries from 35 first-class matches at an average of 47.45, which improves to 51.35 in List A cricket where he has 2003 runs with six centuries. His T20 record isn't shabby either: a strike rate of 130.98 with 706 runs at an average of 30.69. The next target for Juyal, after the Duleep Trophy, will be the Ranji Trophy season, starting October 11.
"I prepare a lot for red-ball cricket," Juyal says. "The last few seasons have been good for me, for both white-ball and red-ball cricket. I feel it's important that I prepare for all three formats. It has become a little difficult, given the cricket schedule and the year-round cricket these days. It has been a challenge in the last few years that I've had to prepare for Duleep Trophy while playing the UPT20 League. They are one after the other so I have to prepare for both simultaneously. It is a challenge, but also an opportunity that I get to play two such big tournaments.
"I work on my red-ball game in such a way that one day I face inswing, then outswing, how I want to start my innings. I try to bat with the same tactics in the nets the way I want to out there. If I want to build an innings in the game, I try to work on it the same way in the nets; that's what I focus on. UPT20 has been going on for ten days and before that there was a camp for ten days, so until now I had been preparing for that. And I try to take out time whenever I can to train with the red ball."
Being a top-order batter and wicketkeeper means Juyal doesn't get much time to rest if he has to bat after a long innings while 'keeping. He has to manage his fitness and workload accordingly, especially for the non-stop cricket.
"We have trainers, physios, and there's a crucial relationship with them," Juyal says. "It's important to go for an ice bath and do other such things after a game, especially when you play back-to-back games. When there's time, you have to do gym sessions; all such things are important. The more you work on strength and recovery with physios and trainers, the better it is."