No reward but Jiwanjot soldiers on

For someone who made headlines last season and displayed an impeccable temperament,he has indeed got a raw deal. All he could manage was find a place in the Board President’s XI team for a side game against the visiting Australians. The reason for his non-selection in the India A or India U-23 team is clear: Jiwanjot is pigeonholed as a player suited for only the longer version of the game. In order to break that image,he is working on his game and understands the need to add more strokes in his armoury. The message has been received well by his coach Mahesh Inder Singh as well.

Talking about his plans for the upcoming season,Jiwanjot shared: “I am not at all thinking about the past season. It’s over now. I want to start the upcoming season from the scratch. I have been training really hard in the past few months. The upcoming Punjab Inter-District cricket tournament is on my mind right now. I might not have made to the India A or India U-23 teams but I love challenges. I cannot change other people’s opinion about myself,but yes I can improve. I want to be known as a cricketer who excelled in all forms of the game. All my focus is on Ranji Trophy matches.”

Speaking to Sportline,former Punjab Ranji cricketer Mahesh Inder Singh said,”It is sad and baffling that after scoring so many runs in the first season of first-class cricket,Jiwanjot could not fetch a berth in either India A or India U-23 teams. I mean being the highest scorer of the season,one expects to get a call for the India A team at least. It’s alright if he did not manage to get an IPL contract,but he could have made it to the U-23 India team that had to play a few three-day matches in South Africa. But it is better not to hold on to the past and work for the future.” Jiwanjot has been training under Mahesh Inder Singh in Patiala ever since he was nine.

“There is nothing wrong the way Jiwanjot conducted his game during the last Ranji season. For a debutant,it was just amazing to hit 213 in his first Ranji game (against Hyderabad),that too in a copybook manner. But as a cricketer,he needed to loosen up and go for more attacking shots. He has shown tremendous progress in the last three months in developing his game.There is no need for him to lose heart and get discouraged. He is just 22. I remember,in the late 80s,when Navjot Singh Sidhu started playing for India,he was shunned by the cricket experts and the media for not being an attacking player and also for not going for shots all over the ground. It was on Mohinder Amarnath’s advice that Sidhu started to play cut and pull shots on one of the West Indies tours. After that he managed to hit 112 runs in the next match. So,its OK if Jiwanjot played in the ‘V’ area last season. He is in the learning process and working hard to improve his game. If he could not impress with 1000 runs last season,he should score 1500 runs this season to make a mark,” added Jiwanjot’s coach.