‘Surprised my action was suspect’

The veteran off-spinner,however put the little distraction away to pocket seven wickets and single-handedly stop Railways’s march towards a score of over 450 on Day Two. “He (Pillai) had no issues with my action,he was only telling me that I was doing well to stay away from trouble,” 30-year-old told Sportline after end of day’s play on Wednesday.

Having played three Test matches,five ODIs and 90 first-class games in his career,getting to know through newspapers that his name was on the shamed list was a shocker for Sarandeep.

“I was surprised to find my name on the list as I was never in the question for so many years. But I have no issues with the way the entire issue was handled. My only objection is that nobody should tell me that I chucked once in the evening,while my action remained all right during the first two sessions. That would be too much,if you chuck,you will do it all the time,” he added.

After keeping his team in the match,the off-spinner said that the knowledge of the conditions at the Karnail Singh Stadium saw him through difficult periods. “It’s never easy to bowl here. The pitch is always been slow and low. I had to vary my pace and line length to snare a wicket. Though it was a marathon spell,I am happy with my performance,” Sarandeep says reflecting on his marathon effort of 56.3 overs to bag figures of 7 for 120.

“Besides I have played against them so many times so know how to bowl to them and play with their patience. It’s the same for many of the experienced batsmen in their batting line-up,they could also have weared me down,” he added.

Himachal coach Rajdeep Kalsi also praised his bowling ace. “There is nothing on the pitch for the bowlers. Even Railways spinners couldn’t make an impression in the last session. So it was all more creditable. It was only down his experience and tenacity that he got so many wickets,” he said.

‘Not right to question bowlers’
In contrast,Himachal’s two other spinners,Vishal Bhatia and Kuldeep Diwan — both left-arm orthodox — went wicketless in the first innings. However,the off-spinner backed his spin mates saying it wasn’t their day. “You can’t find fault with the bowlers. May be I was bowling better than everybody or Railways batsmen were playing me with caution,while chancing their arms against them. It can be anything. So its not right to question anyone’s efforts.”