Uttar Pradesh pacer Sudeep Tyagi is thrilled after getting his maiden call-up for the Indian team. And that he may get a chance to play against the Aussies delights him even more.

There is something about Australia that brings out the best in Tyagi. His reverse swing troubled the Australia ‘A’ batsmen when India ‘A’ toured Down Under last year. Later, in the Emerging Players tournament — again in Australia — he played a significant role in India’s title win, taking the maximum number of wickets.

“To be honest, I was expecting my name in the squad,” Tyagi told The Indian Express from Ghaziabad. “It was because I was the best bowler in the Emerging Players tournament and also due to my performance in the recently concluded Challenger Series final.

“Come the ODI series, I hope I will be able to that again,” he added.

Close to quitting

Having made the big league is a dream coming true for Tyagi, but there was time when he came close to quitting cricket. “I was almost going to quit, nothing was going right for me in under-19 and under-22. I had played just three matches before and had unimpressive show. So one day when I saw Ranji Trophy trials on paper, I told my mother to give me last chance and luckily things change from there,” he recalled.

In his Ranji debut season, Tyagi finished as highest wicket-taker with 41 wickets but a back injury saw him missing the entire second season. “Sometimes, I really didn’t know what to do. When I got injured then I knew the importance of gym and fitness. Earlier, I never took things seriously, so when I missed the IPL Season One, I said it’s time for more hard work,” he explained.

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