MR INDIA A

Trying to erase the suffix
It’s an overnight transformation from merely being a player to becoming an ‘A’ player. Once a cricketer gets named in the India A team, it is the acknowledgement of his presence in the queue outside the Indian team dressing room. Since the status of the position on the waiting list isn’t clear, the paradox connected to this new tag gradually dawns. Being in the A side does recognise the fact that one is good, but it also poses a challenge: Is one good enough?

Interestingly, from the time that a cricketer gets a T-shirt with ‘India A’ printed on it, etched in mind is a dream of knocking off the suffix. But there’s no magic detergent to instantly rub it off. The journey is tough, and waiting on the threshold of the national team is a precarious, cliff-hanging experience.

There are many who tipped over and got lost in obscurity but there are also those who have stuck around to make the jump. It’s this mixed emotion of apprehension and excitement that defines the confused mindset of that intriguing specimen called the India A cricketer.
Several such fringe cricketers are in the middle of a series these days against the visiting Australians. With the aging national team expected to see a transition any time soon, the focus is on this bunch of men with dreamy eyes.

The pressure on them is understandable and that’s the reason Mohammad Kaif, even after being the highest scorer in the opening game against Australia A in Bangalore, avoids the media these days. He’s been around for long to know that one wrong step or stray comment might go against him in the longer run. “I have a band-aid on my lips. I will let my bat do the talking,” he says politely.

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.

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