BBL: Strange thing Sydney Thunder’s Jason Sangha does to help his cricket

This BBL cricketer does something rather strange at night which shows just how much he loves the game and how determined he is to reach new heights after a rollercoaster few years.

Jason Sangha is hoping to get time with Thunder this season.

He’s only 21 but Jason Sangha has already has a taste of the extreme highs and lows of being a professional athlete.

And there is no surprise which one he prefers.

The Sydney Thunder gun, whose father was a top Indian runner before moving to Australia, is now working to reach new heights in a sport which had him tagged as one of the most promising talents in the country from an early age.

Jason Sangha batting for the Blues.

At age 18 Sangha became the second youngest player behind the great Sachin Tendulkar to score a century against England.

He was named Australian Under 19 captain, scored a debut Sheffield Shield century and cracked the BBL.

But last season, his trajectory changed.

“I went from every single game in the BBL and then none. You are just watching other guys do well, I had good expectations on how the year would be, I thought it would be a breakout year,’’ said Sangha, who plays NSW Premier Cricket for Randwick Petersham but moved from Coogee to Newcastle as a youngster with his family.

“It was a massive eye opener. I didn’t think I was probably as good as I was.

“It was a nice reminder the more you put pressure on yourself the more it doesn’t work.

“It has kept me honest and a bit humble.”

Jason Sangha in action.

It has also increased Sangha’s hunger to succeed, with the BBL potentially his forum to shine after a hamstring injury.

“Every opportunity you get I don’t want to waste,’’ he said.

“Professional sport can be challenging, you have to manage it.’’

Sangha, who is with the team in a Canberra hub, said he simply loves the game he has played since school and is most comfortable with a bat in hand.

“I have a cricket bat and I stand in front of the mirror, I’m always tapping and playing some imaginary shots,’’ he said of his “shadow batting’’.

“I was up quite late doing it,’’ he said.

“I hear guys like Shane Smith also do it. Us cricket maniacs love doing it.’’

MORE SPORT

New race for Sydney to Hobart crews in the wind

From shy soccer kid to AFL draftee while still in his teens

How lessons learned in backyard helped this cricketer

Teenager learning art of being a Swan