There are others willing to speak but their statements are guarded and the anxiety in their tone is tough to ignore. To understand the mood in the dressing room where most men are on the edge, one speaks to former India A coach Lalchand Rajput. “Yes the nervousness is certainly there, but there is also a lot of excitement. That is where the maturity and attitude of a cricketer can be gauged. It is how one deals with these situations and it is his attitude that eventually decides who makes it to the next level and who gets left behind,” he says.

Over the years, many cricketers have passed through this stage and they speak about how maintaining a positive attitude is a tall ask during this ‘so-close-yet-so-far’ phase. Ambati Rayudu got the India A break when he was 17 and, considering his rapid rise from the ranks, he thought making the senior team was an eventuality waiting to happen. Soon, the harsh reality about the packed Indian middle-order dawned on him. “There were no vacancies in the senior team. Even someone like VVS Laxman had been left out of the World Cup squad. That is the time when it can get a little frustrating. I’ve been with the India A squad on six occasions and each time that frustration has only increased. With every tour I hope things might turn for the better, but it doesn’t happen,” he says. Such was his state of mind that Rayudu joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and that meant saying a final goodbye to the dreams of wearing an India cap.

... contd.