Adding agony to injury

It happened during the fielding practice ahead of Tamil Nadu’s third Ranji match – I had just returned to the nets after writing a couple of exams. It was the last catch of the day, and as soon as the ball impacted my wrist, I knew something was terribly wrong. I’d fallen down, and could not put any weight on my left hand to balance myself and get up. At that moment, I didn’t want to tell anyone, not even my parents. I just wanted to get an X-ray done and hoped to find out that everything was all right.

Everything was not all right. In 21 years of my life, I had never had a single fracture, and now when I was playing probably the best cricket I ever have, it just had to happen on my left wrist. I know injuries are a part and parcel of any sportsman’s life so I don’t want to moan about it. But the timing of it is crucial in my case. Just before that, we had had a pretty strong team meeting – I won’t say it was angry, but it was charged up. The coach [WV Raman] had a few things to say to us about how make things happen instead of waiting for them to happen. Overall, there was disappointment in the team at some of our performances and I found that meeting really inspirational.

There was a day when rains ruined practice and Badri [S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu captain], myself and the coach [Raman] were working indoors and we spent a lot of time talking about what went wrong, what each of us could do, and I was really pumped up at the chance to do something.

I know I’m not exactly one of the seniors in the team, but I felt like it was up to me to take on some more responsibility. There are many people who believe in me and have backed me. I owe it to them - and not just to myself - to succeed when I step onto the field. That’s why, when the injury happened, my first response to Raman was, “Sir, I’m sorry this happened.” He, of course, is an experienced cricketer and explained to me that these things happened and that there was nothing one could do about them. When the time is right and I am fully fit, I’d be a part of the action once again, he told me.

Even though I was in severe pain, I didn’t want to rule myself out. It was only when the X-rays showed that it was a proper fracture that I sort of broke down. I’ve felt really down since the injury, and it even felt to me that I had nothing to look forward to until I got fit. When the doctors said it would be about four weeks before I was fully fit, I felt like I’d lost four weeks of my life.

But then I resolved not to take things too negatively, and instead use my studies as a diversion. Already, the left wrist is healing well and I can do most normal things – batting and fielding are strictly prohibited – and this has lifted my mood.

Now, instead of thinking about the injury and the cricket I am missing, I’m trying to focus on what needs to be done when I come back. I know I have to ease myself back in, and that the most important thing to ensure is that a similar injury does not recur. And when I’m back I want to make a telling contribution. It’s not just about playing and taking wickets, but I have to make an impact on the game in a way that is meaningful for my team.

I guess I am feeling so low, because this was the first time after I began playing cricket that I’ve missed out. When I was playing Under-14s I had a bit of a problem with a pelvic slip disc. That left me bed-ridden for about six weeks. I couldn’t even move around then, but it didn’t feel as bad as this. Right now, all I can think about is when I’ll be playing again.