Gagandeep gets the call, says I’m ready

It’s a typical Punjab success story: son of a farmer, brother runs a petrol pump in the US. But few have been scripted so dramatically.

In the last one month, Gagandeep has picked up 25 wickets from three Ranji Trophy matches, including one hat-trick. He’s already picked four five-wicket hauls and his most recent one, against Baroda, had four trabbed leg before and one clean bowled.

It wasn’t a complete surprise. His talent had been recognised earlier by the National selectors, who included him in the Indian camp prior to the Asia Cup last June. That’s when Gagandeep got the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan, his idols.

Given that he hadn’t played any big matches, save being part of the squad for the Rest of India against England U-19 at Mumbai, this was the boost he needed. ‘‘I know I haven’t played those big matches but the Indian camp helped me immensely in terms of temperament’’, he said. ‘‘Being in the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy (last year) was also a learning experience.’’

A fitness buff — he’s hired a US-returned personal trainer on Andrew Leipus’s advice — Gagandeep has one short-term problem to sort out before focussing on Bangladesh: ‘‘I don’t know if I can sleep well today. Then again, there are miles to go…’’

Seniors stay in team for Bangla

Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chose to go with their main set of players, putting to rest conjecture about a possible second string team making the tour of Bangladesh.

The Team: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Mohammed Kaif, S S Paul, Gagandeep Singh, Dinesh Kaarthick, Murali Kartik, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan