|
The enigma called Ajit Agarkar
The enigma called Ajit Agarkar
New Delhi: What makes Delhi versus Mumbai a marquee clash in domestic cricket is invariably the personnel. Stalwarts from domestic and international cricket alike have lit up empty stands of iconic grounds with spectacular performances time and again. The ongoing battle, however, does not feature many of them.
Whether Ajit Agarkar can be bracketed as a stalwart from either domestic or international cricket is in itself a tricky proposition. Until last year he was part of India's Twenty20 World Cup jubilation, and had toured England prior to that. Now, though, his name has withered into obscurity, shrunk almost as much as his frame.
A wave of next-generation fast bowlers has captured the imagination of a country where spinners were once the norm. Kapil Dev's stellar career established a belief, and the likes of Manoj Prabhakar and Javagal Srinath helped erase the dogma. But the next crop was particularly hard to find.
Then Ajit Agarkar burst onto prominence. It was the series at Sharjah in 1998. Some say it was the second coming of Sachin Tendulkar. Little remember that the little Mumbai pacer made huge strides from thereon. He grew from strength to strength, becoming the fastest bowler to reach 50 ODI wickets. His economy-rate was over five runs per over. No one cared as long as he was picking up two wickets a game.
After Mumbai collapsed from an overnight 279-2 to 330 all out, the pacers had their work cut out. They didn't have the assurance of Zaheer Khan who is away on international duty, but a battle-hardened veteran leading the attack and a greenhorn who impressed one and all during the IPL and has picked up 18 wickets in the first two games of his domestic career over the past two weeks: Dhaval Kulkarni.
Agarkar took the new ball from the old pavilion end and at once evoked two emotions that have typified his career: capable of running through batting orders and erratic at the same time. Ravi Shastri often refers to a bowler of his ilk as a "slippery customer". He retains the ability to surprise batsmen with his pace. But he has a greater gift, of swinging the new ball away mightily from the right-hander.
He warmed up to the Delhi winter sun with a gingerly first over, and the first ball of his next over proved he hasn't lost his touch. A batsman ought to know where his off-stump is, says the famous maxim. For left-handed Shikhar Dhawan, the saying held even more importance. It was a genuine banana-like out-swinger. It started from outside the line and cannoned into the off-stump as the teams broke for tea.
Those seven deliveries seemed to ridicule the Delhi pacemen, who struggled to move the ball on a much dull first day. They ripped through Mumbai's batting first thing on the second day all right, but movement off the air wasn't as exhaggerated. Agarkar was perhaps playing on a different surface altogether.
His second wicket came in his second spell, with the ball 20-something overs old. It was still swinging. Aditya Jain played down the wrong line. Agarkar slipped one that held its line, and sent the leg-stump cartwheeling near the wicketkeeper. He was quick to assess the conditions: "It was swinging, not seaming." Lateral movement was not something Agarkar ever relied upon.
His understudy, Kulkarni, is similarly built. He is not blessed with Agarkar's slinging side-on action, and doesn't even have a jump in his delivery stride. Yet, he is deceptively quick, and can move the ball both ways. Batsmen were often rushed into their shots, and the bowler was rewarded with the prized scalp of captain Aakash Chopra.
Only recently Kulkarni came back from a stint at the Australian Centre of Excellence under the Dilip Sardesai Scholarship. It's still early days, but Agarkar knows he's a talent. "Kulkarni is an impressive new bowler. He is bowling very well. It's been a great beginning to his Ranji season." It's a cruel sport. Agarkar is 10 years Kulkarni's senior, yet they fight for the same honour.
He was touted as the missing all-rounder, even has a Test century at Lord's to boot. But he straight away rubbishes it. "I was never an all-rounder."
Nearing 31, Agarkar doesn't even qualify as a veteran. It's only the start of the domestic season, and the increasing load of international cricket means the likes of him are still in contention. After all, 288 ODI wickets should count for something. "I still want to play for India. That's why I'm here." Whether he gets picked for the national team is another matter, but if he does, those two emotions will at once rush to mind.
source - cricketnext
|
Linear Mode
