Amay Khurasiya

A flamboyant left-hander from Madhya Pradesh, Amay Khurasiya has always been fancied as a batsman who could score briskly. After beginning his career in exciting fashion, scoring a quick half-century against Sri Lanka in the Pepsi Cup in March 1999, Khurasiya found the going quite difficult at the international level. Although he was in the squad for the World Cup in England he did not play a single match. In the three matches in Sri Lanka (Aiwa Cup) and then the two matches in the Coca-Cola Challenger in Singapore, he managed just 66 runs. The southpaw has so far failed to capitalise on the infrequent chances that have come his way. His tendency to shuffle in the crease and flash at the ball outside the off stump have been exploited by bowlers. Sachin Tendulkar's foot injury just before the Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka (mid 2001) gives Khurasiya a chance to revitalise his career. Recalled to the Indian team as a standby opener, Khurasiya is under pressure to make a few big scores. In doing so, he might just be able to get in contention for one of the middle order positions on offer. A heavy scorer in domestic circuit, Khurasiya has been a key member of the MP Ranji team through the nineties. He has amassed over 5700 runs in first-class cricket with a personal best of 238. He has thrice aggregated over 500 runs in a season, scoring 584 runs off 11 innings in 1990-91 and followed it up immediately with an aggregate of 548 runs in 10 innings the following season. In the 2000-01 season Khurasiya was once again in the news, scoring 711 runs in domestic first-class cricket. He retired from first-class cricket in April 2007 and has since taken up television commentary.
Anand Vasu