“My ambition is to bowl like Warne and bat like Dravid. Unfortunately, I never could interact with those two greats. I will definitely like to meet them, it will be a big day in my life,” Bajaj gushed.

“I have a lot of CDs of them with me and I keep watching them. It is a sort of an inspiration, and it fills me with an urge to emulate my role models,” he added.

Spending time with Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble is another of his desires. “He is a living legend and the record — close to 1000 wickets — in both forms speaks volumes. It will be a terrific experience like a beginner for me. Hopefully, I can meet him some day,” Bajaj said.

The 17-year-old showed glimpses of his talent in the under-17 inter-zonal tournament and the all-India under-17 tournament in Cuttack, picking a bagful of wickets with his leg-spin.

“I was in good form in those two tournaments and got a lot of wickets. One particular spell (7/56) against Raichur Zone in the inter-zonals in Bangalore was memorable. That helped the team a lot in the competition," he noted.
But the teenager knows pretty well the dangers of resting on one's laurels. He wants to work hard to keep the momentum going.

“I would now like to graduate to the under-19 level and represent the country at that level. A good performance there can, hopefully, open a lot more avenues for me like the national colours and the Indian Premier League. But I need to be patient and keep working for that,” the second PUC student of Mahaveer Jain College said.
Bajaj started his cricketing career as a 10-year old and the turning point was his meeting with Irfan Sait. Realising the kid's potential, Sait asked him to join his Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC). Ever since, he has helped Bajaj climb the ladder.

Bajaj too acknowledged Sait's role. "The KIOC has excellent facilities, and I still practice there. Irfan sir has really helped me a lot. I go there and spend nearly six hours a day polishing my skills,” said Bajaj, who moved to Bangalore from Agra when just a toddler.

Bajaj identified his dad and brother as the biggest supporters. “My dad (Vijay Bajaj, a businessman) and elder brother (Gaurav, an IT Professional), keep egging me on and give me all kind of support. Without them, I would not have been able to pursue my dream — playing cricket," he observed.

Bajaj has already bagged some noteworthy awards in his short career, but he cherishes the best batsmen award given in 2006 by his school St Joseph's. It might be a coincidence that one of the recipients of that award a few years ago was a certain Rahul Dravid, but that award is a motivation for Bajaj to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious state-mate.