Delhi Daredevils back-bencher now Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister

Tejaswi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, was once an aspiring cricketer. He spend four seasons with the Delhi Daredevils without playing a single game. The 26-year-old is now Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

Rajarshi Gupta   |   November 20, 2015 | UPDATED 19:51 IST 

The 26-year-old, who will serve as Nitish Kumar's number two. (Photo credit: PTI/IPL)

Tejaswi Pratap Yadav was on Friday sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. The 26-year-old, who will serve as Nitish Kumar's number two, is the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who himself made a victorious return to Bihar politics.

Tejaswi grabbed headlines when he won his first election on his 26th birthday, two weeks ago. But that was not the first time he made a name for himself. The young politician, who did not study beyond class 9, was once a cricketer-in-the-making. 

Tejaswi had tried his hand at professional cricket well before winning his debut political battle. After making it to the Delhi U-19 team, Tejaswi was selected to play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy. But the former Chief Minister's son did not make much impact. 

Tejaswi debuted against Vidharba in 2009 and made scores of 1 and 19. He also bowled five overs without taking a wicket. Tejaswi would never play another Ranji game after that. However, he did feature for Jharkhand again in a Vijay Hazare match against Orissa, where he did not impress either, scoring 9 in his team's 11-run defeat.

The middle-order batsman played four T20 matches but never managed to set the stage on fire. He batted just once and got three runs - he bowed in three innings and conceded 36 runs at an economy rate of 8.33. 

It therefore came as a surprise when Tesjaswi was snapped up by Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils. He did not play a single game in his four seasons there and Tejaswi admitted it was frustrating to sit on the bench while the others enjoyed the limelight on the field. 

"It has been frustrating for me. Others have played but I am still waiting for my opportunity. But as much as I want to play, it's also about the right team combination and there are so many other good all-rounders. It has been nice to be in the company of so many international players and it's good to share the dressing room with them," Tejaswi had been quoted back in 2012 by a leading Indian newspaper.

His cricket career failed to take off but Tejaswi has got off to a sensational start as a politician. His famous father, who was once India's railway minister, would like to see his young son touch new highs as a leader of the masses. It will be also interesting to see if Tejaswi manages to revive the fortunes of Bihar cricket. The state has not featured in the Ranji Trophy for 14 years after the BCCI withdrew BCA's affiliation and recognised the Jharkhand Cricket Association instead.