Every morning during his formative years, Shashwat Jagtap would leave his home in Kalyan and spend nearly two hours traveling across Mumbai to train at the MIG Club in Bandra. On Monday evening at the Wankhede Stadium, those countless commutes finally seemed worthwhile.
The 23-year-old announced himself on the bigger stage with a scintillating unbeaten 100 off just 50 balls as Eagle Thane Strikers comfortably chased down a target of 190 against Bandra Blasters in the opening fixture of the fourth edition of the T20 Mumbai League.
In doing so, Jagtap became only the second batsman to score a century in the tournament’s history after Jay Bista’s semifinal hundred in 2019.
“I am feeling very happy to score a century in my very first match of the T20 Mumbai League. It’s yet to sink in,” Jagtap said moments after the innings. “But the most important thing is that I contributed to my team’s win.”
Ironically, despite being part of the title-winning MSC Maratha Royals squad last year, Jagtap had never played a T20 Mumbai match before Monday.
Those who have followed Mumbai’s age-group cricket, however, know that the innings was hardly accidental. Years of training under coaches at MIG Club and constant traveling from the distant central suburbs shaped a batter who rarely appears rushed, irrespective of the format.
Even after producing one of the finest innings in the league’s history, Jagtap refused to look too far ahead.
“I am not thinking too much ahead,” he said when asked about whether his hundred would open the doors of Mumbai’s T20 team. “I am just focusing on improving my game.”
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The right-hander admits to closely following the batting approaches of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, although he hasn’t interacted with either yet.
What perhaps distinguishes Jagtap from many contemporaries is his parallel commitment away from cricket. A commerce graduate, he is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Sports Management at the International Institute of Sports Management.
“We all know how uncertain cricket is,” Jagtap said. “That’s why I am studying sports management as a back-up because I love the sports field. If you give proper time to both, cricket and studies can be managed.”
On Monday evening, though, cricket alone demanded attention.
Brief scores:
Bandra Blasters 189 for nine in 20 overs (Suved Parkar 30, Jay Jain 45, Om Keshkamat 40; Shardul Thakur 2/33, Onkar Tarmale 3/28) lost to Eagle Thane Strikers 194 for one in 15.2 overs (Sumeir Zaveri 80, Shashwat Jagtap 100 no).
Published on Jun 01, 2026
