Total Recall

“Since this Stadium went in for renovation I have never played a Ranji Trophy game here. Wankhede has always been a great track to bowl,” said Agarkar.

Despite being away from the limelight,there is certain to be a lot of scrutiny regarding Agarkar’s fitness and leadership once the season gets underway. The captain’s responsibility will ensure that the veteran pacer cannot rest his aging body sometime in between the season—especially with each team slated to play eight league games before the knock-outs.

“Injury is in nobody’s hand and you can’t go there thinking about such things. As I’m leading the side,I won’t have the liberty to take a break but that’s fine. The season will be tiring for the pacers but we all will try to give our best. Pacers do need a break ideally though. Look at Dhaval (Kulkarni),he has bowled thousands of balls in the past four seasons,” Agarkar explained.

Agarkar realizes that his real challenge will start once the big names return to national duty with the commencement of the England Test series. Mumbai will then have to rely on their youngsters to do the job. Like Wasim Jaffer,the 35-year-old Agarkar too holds a credible and respected stature in the Mumbai dressing room and his vast knowledge has always been appreciated by his colleagues.

“We have had a strong team over the years. It just takes one bad game for the momentum to change. We were in a strong position in the semi-final last year but we couldn’t finish it off. You have to play well. It is a long hard season ahead. If you get to the final,it means you have played 11 games one after the other. You start the season thinking that you have a chance to go all the way. We have got the players to go all the way,but you have to perform otherwise it is not going happen,” said a pragmatic Agarkar regarding his team’s chances of winning their 40th Ranji title.

The presence of Tendulkar and Zaheer,he added will be a great boost for players of all cadres in the team,and will also prove to be a great learning experience for all concerned. Getting to rub shoulders with the two greats will also prove to be a great inspiration.

“Sachin’s presence itself is inspiring. A few of the guys have never experienced having Sachin around in their dressing room,so it is fantastic. Just the way he is preparing for this game and the series going ahead shows that his commitment has not changed over the years. Not just the young guys but all of us can learn from him. The way he approaches the game even today is exemplary,” said Agarkar.

Having missed out on playing Ranji cricket on his beloved home ground for four long years,the ageless pacer is now desperate to make his second coming a glorious one.