Indian-born recruit Arjun Sehrawat has excelled since coming back into Geelong’s first grade team

A meaningful chat with a senior coach has seen a young Cats recruit become arguably the first grade’s most in-form player after a dominant December with bat and ball.

Geelong's Arjun Sehrawat made 69 against Ringwood. Picture: Carey Neate.

It was a conversation with Geelong senior coach Eamonn Vines which helped Indian-born recruit Arjun Sehrawat identify how and where he might fit into a new-look Cats team this season.

Sehrawat, who turned 20 last month, crossed to Kardinia Park during the 2023 off-season after three years at rival Premier club Footscray.

While it was a completely new environment for the then 18-year-old Delhi product, a changing landscape was actually nothing new, having been involved at three other clubs since arriving in the country at three years of age.

After starting out at South Perth, the family moved to Melbourne when Sehrawat was 13.

He would find a new home at Yarraville CC, before joining Footscray and eventually the Cats for the 2023-24 season.

Arjun Sehrawat made 69 against Ringwood. Picture: Carey Neate.

Lured across by former senior coach Nick Speak, Sehrawat said he was essentially chasing a bit more opportunity and a fresh start in a new environment.

Playing a pair of games in first grade in 23-24, Sehrawat was solid without being spectacular with the bat in the twos, hitting 207 runs at 23, but starred with the ball (24 wickets at 17.75).

Taking wickets in seven consecutive matches, Sehrawat shone against Greenvale with 6-53 off 25.5 overs.

Describing the culture as laid-back yet structured under new coaches Vines and Jake Brown, Sehrawat has felt supported and his recent results back up that theory.

“I’m loving the Geelong environment,” Sehrawat said.

After starting the season in the ones – including a 21-ball 40 against Greenvale – Sehrawat would find himself back in second grade.

However, after being injected back into the fold for Geelong’s block of four T20 games, Sehrawat has been a bright spot for the Cats as they have slipped to 12th on the Premier table.

Since his re-elevation, Sehrawat has scored 169 runs at 33.8 with a top score of 69 on Saturday against Ringwood in a 50-over fixture.

Arjun Sehrawat has excelled for Geelong after coming back into the first grade. Picture: Carey Neate.

Meanwhile, with the ball, he has claimed eight wickets at the tidy average of 19 apiece.

The leg spinning all-rounder said he got a bit “stuck” last year with his mental approach, but given a role to bat anywhere from three to seven by Vines, depending on the situation, his game has flourished.

He said Vines had wanted Sehrawat, who still lives in the Werribee area, to bat with freedom and aggression to increase the run rate

“Since then … I’ve felt really good about my batting, and then my bowling came along with that,” Sehrawat said.

“It just gives you so much confidence when one skillset is going well and the other one starts doing well too.

“The support I’m getting the last couple of years has been really good.

“I feel like last year I got a bit stuck in between mindsets.”

Apart from Ollie Peake, who Sehrawat had played against at the under-19 national championships last summer, he knew nobody at Kardinia Park.

Sehrawat is averaging 33 with the bat since coming back into first grade. Picture: Carey Neate.

One of six imports to bolster the Territory line up, following a recommendation from Cricket Victoria, the Maribyrnong Sports Academy product would make strong NT connections and ventured north this year for Darwin’s dry season with Tracy Village.

“We didn’t win many games but it helped me try new things, work on different things, get a bit of game experience before coming back to Melbourne,” Sehrawat said, who finished off the season with 53 off 63 balls against Waratah.

Now immersed within the Geelong system, Sehrawat is planning to study construction management in 2025.

Originally published as Indian-born recruit Arjun Sehrawat has excelled since coming back into Geelong’s first grade team