Tokas makes the most of one-year wait

Hard work never goes waste, and Delhi seamer Vikas Tokas justifies the phrase. Two Ranji seasons back, he made his first class debut for Railways but eventually shifted to Delhi. The period between shifting from Railways and settling in the senior Delhi side might have accounted for a year but the road was full of obstacles. Before the start of the last edition of the Ranji Trophy, Tokas, despite informing his availability for Delhi, had to wait an entire season before earning his third first-class match.

The reason for the delay was the time it took for Railways to grant him the no objection nod. When he was handed the NOC, it was too late for him to even get considered in the Delhi probables camp. "I played two matches for them, I wasn't enjoying it there. I always wanted to play for Delhi but as soon as I was picked in the Railways camp and they promised a job, my family insisted that I should take up the opportunity. But I was right and I am happy that Delhi accepted me and helped further my career," says Tokas.

For father Dharampal Tokas, a Delhi Transport Corporation bus driver, fulfilling the needs of a cricketer son wasn't easy. An opportunity of working in a government set-up must have given the family some financial security and hence their insistence that he take up the offer. Tokas was posted in Mumbai but the pressures of the job, he says, prevented him from concentrating on his bowling. "I was fed up with what was going on. I spoke to my family and told them I would rather quit cricket than play for Railways. But thankfully the Railways board gave me the nod and I could play for Delhi," Tokas says.

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