Mohanty: Nurturing hopes of a comeback

Debashis Mohanty feels that his job is to take as many wickets as he can. The rest is for the selectors to decide. Mohanty, who played a leading role in Orissa's first ever victory over Bengal in the Ranji Trophy last week, also feels that even though his job of coming back to the Indian team is difficult, it is not impossible. A couple of days back, before his departure for Assam, the lanky Orissa medium pacer said, "I know that good fast bowlers like Zaheer Khan have come into the Indian team. Moreover there are established cricketers like Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar. However, even then, I feel that I can make a comeback simply because of the amount of cricket that is now played in a season. One must always be ready for a chance, so that when it comes, I can grab it with both hands."

The bowler also termed his performance against Bengal as one of the most memorable of his life. "The feeling is quite similar to that I had when I made my debut for India. The reason for that is that the Orissa side has created history and I had an important role to play." In spite of bowling to various batsmen all over the world, Mohanty feels that the two most difficult batsmen to bowl to are Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. "When you bowl at them, you realize that you do not have the opportunity to bowl a bad ball. At times, they even put the good balls away, so you will always have to be at your peak against them." Another batsmen he likes is the former Sri Lankan captain Aravinda de Silva. "When I bowled against him in my debut Test in Sri Lanka, I realized why they call him `Mad Max. He simply blazes away. I felt quite pleased when I took his wicket."

At the moment, Mohanty is working overtime to gain more control over his length and direction. "I am working out in my own way as in international cricket, you cannot afford to make a single mistake. I have found my rhythm this season." The Bengal batsmen can vouch for that as Mohanty has claimed 16 victims while bowling three times against them (twice in the Ranji Trophy match and once in the one day game). However, the Orissa medium pacer still wants to better his performance. "People tend to forget if you take five wickets once. So I have got to do it innings after innings and only then can I hope to regain my place." He is also working on his batting. "Previously, I used to bat at No 11 for Orissa. Now I am coming in at No 8. That is because in modern cricket, one also has to bat well. There is no scope for looseness in any aspect of the game," he said.