09/10/2026
You all must have read about him and seen this face all over socials in Melbounre for the past week or two!!
Here is the story behind this talented cricketer who is making waves and is ready for the next challenge.
From the Nets to the 1st XI: Samar Partap Singh and the MCCA Way
Samar Partap Singh, a product of My Cricket Coaching Academy (MCCA), has been selected to make his Victorian Premier Cricket 1st XI debut for Prahran Cricket Club.
It is the highest level of club cricket in Victoria, the competition that has produced generations of state and Test players. For a young cricketer who first walked into an MCCA net session at seven years of age, it is a landmark moment. For the coaches and family who have walked beside him, it is proof that patience, honesty and a clear plan still work.
A journey that started at seven
Harshad A Dixit, Director of Cricket at MCCA, still remembers the first time he saw Samar. He was seven years old, eager and curious, with a willingness to listen that stood out even then.
Since that first session, Samar has been, in Harshad's words, "the best student of the game". Michael Sheedy saw him training at MCCA and picked him for Yarraville Cricket Club. Samar repaid that faith quickly, making his 1st XI debut for Yarraville at just 13 years of age.
Last season he was named in Prahran's U16 WJ Dowling Shield squad (Prahran CC), a key step on Victoria's junior pathway. He has also been named in Cricket Victoria's Under 17 Emerging Players squad, marking him as one of the state's most promising young cricketers.
Now he steps into the 1st XI. The game is rewarding a young man who has been humble, hardworking and dedicated at every stage.
The coach behind the journey
Harshad A. Dixit is one of Melbourne's most qualified and experienced junior development coaches.
Credential or role Detail
ICC Level 3 High Performance Coach
Cricket Australia Level 2 and Level 1 accredited coach
My Cricket Coaching Academy Founder and Director of Cricket
Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club Senior Development Coach and Pathways Coach (U16 Dowling Shield and U18)
Essendon Cricket Club Head coach of the 2022/23 Dowling Shield premiership side
Batting Coach Windwards Islands (West Indies)
Footscray Cricket Club Captain (Development)
Greenvale Cricket Club Captain (Development)
His coaching rests on a few firm beliefs: process over outcome, confidence that is earned, elite standards all year round, and a player's identity that never depends on selection results.
A bold method, already proven
Samar's debut is not a one-off. It follows a track record built over years in Melbourne's pathway system.
In 2022/23, Harshad coached Essendon to the Dowling Shield title, the premier U16 competition in Victoria. That side showed what young players can do when they are prepared with clarity and high standards.
The most personal proof is his own son, Siddhesh Harshad Dixit. Coached by Harshad from the age of Eight, Siddhesh came through the Victorian pathways and debuted for Footscray in Victorian Premier Cricket's 1st XI in 2018/19 as a teenager. He then made a bold move: shifting his base to New Zealand, where he debuted in first-class cricket for the Auckland Aces in 2024.
Many questioned that path at the time. Harshad backed the plan, and the results spoke. Now Samar is writing the next chapter of the same story.
A pipeline, not a one-off
Samar joins a growing group of MCCA-developed players already competing in Victorian Premier Cricket.
Player Premier Cricket club
Paawan Sharma Geelong Cricket Club
Tanish Taneja Footscray Cricket Club
Kamal Singh Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club
Many more MCCA players are competing in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association. Together they show a pathway that keeps producing players, season after season.
What it really takes
Talent opens the door. What carries a young cricketer through it is the environment around them. Four principles sit at the heart of the MCCA way.
Good mentoring and coaching. Junior cricketers need more than drills. They need a mentor who understands the pathway, knows when to push and when to protect, and stays with them through the highs and the setbacks.
Find talent early, nurture it, and get it ready. Harshad's approach is simple: identify talent early, develop it patiently and prepare each player for the challenge ahead. Every MCCA player has a long-term plan for what they need at 10, at 14 and at 17, so each season builds on the last.
Honest and upfront from the start. Harshad tells players and parents the truth from the very first conversation: where a player stands, what it will take, and how long it may take. Feedback is direct, specific and always aimed at the next step. For talented juniors moving through the pathways, he runs a tight ship with clear expectations.
No shortcuts, no quick fixes. Harshad does not believe in quick fixes, and MCCA does not offer six-week accelerated programs. Skill, fitness and temperament are built through year-round work, repeated to a high standard. That is what turns a promising junior into a Premier Cricket player.
A family that trusted the process
No junior gets to this level alone. Samar's parents deserve enormous credit.
From day one they placed their faith in MCCA and followed the plan with complete commitment. Junior cricket comes with plenty of white noise: shortcuts, opinions and comparisons. They never let it distract them, and they never lost faith in the direction set for their son.
That partnership between coach, player and family is rare. It is also, very often, the difference between potential and achievement.
Making an impact in Melbourne's west
My Cricket Coaching Academy runs year-round from the MCCA Cricket Centre in Melbourne's western suburbs. Today it coaches more than 150 juniors, all working under the academy's guiding idea: Pathway to Professional Cricket.
For families in the west, MCCA offers something that was once hard to find close to home: high-performance coaching, a clear pathway plan and coaches who have walked that pathway themselves. Samar's debut shows every junior in the centre what is possible when talent meets the right guidance.
Make history, Samar
From a seven-year-old in the nets to a Premier Cricket 1st XI cap, Samar has earned every step. The whole MCCA family is proud of him, grateful to his parents, and excited for what comes next.
Go out there, play your game, and enjoy every moment. Make history, boy.
My Cricket Coaching Academy
MCCA Cricket Centre
5C & 5E Perpetual Street,Truganina
Melbourne, Australia.
+61451941548
