He’s the man Saurav Ganguly may turn to for offies

When informed about Ganguly’s comment, Parida was upbeat. ‘‘I’ll be naturally delighted if selected to play for the country,’’ he said, speaking from Gurgaon, where he was playing for Central Zone against West in the Duleep Trophy match.

‘‘I am aware that bowling to the formidable Pakistani batsmen will be tough. But I’m ready for the challenge. I had always wanted to play for the country at the highest level. That has been my dream. I am confident of performing well if given an opportunity,’’ said Parida.

Parida (27) has built for himself a reputation as one of the most successful slow bowlers in domestic cricket, forming along with left-armer Murali Kartik a deadly combination for the Railways. The two played a major role in guiding their team to their maiden Ranji Trophy title against Baroda a couple of years ago.

Now, with his partner drafted into the national squad, Parida has often taken the entire burden of bowling the opposition out on his shoulders. The returns have been impressive: 224 wickets in 68 first-class matches with an economy rate of 2.49; five or more wickets on 10 occasions; 10 or more wickets in a match on three occasions; over 100 first-class wickets in the last two seasons.

The one time he bowled to foreign opposition, for Railways against West Indies in 2002, he picked up four wickets. And the eight he picked up in the last Irani Cup match against the Rest of India was another pointer to the bowler’s form.

‘‘I’ll be the happiest person if he gets to represent the country’’, said Railways coach Vinod Sharma, who’s been watching him for a decade. ‘‘He’s been working very hard and has been among the wickets in domestic cricket. A place in the national team is long overdue.’’

Sharma dismisses the chucking allegations. ‘‘Let any umpire call him if he chucks the ball. So far, none have done so. Then why rake up the issue?,’’ he said in an agitated tone.

Parida is a no rabbit with the bat, either, with a highest score of 84. And a good fielder to boot. Indeed, his cricketing skills have helped him rise from a Class IV employee in the Railways a few years ago to being Chief Ticket Inspector in Cuttack. ‘‘The game has given me everything. I want to continue to bowl well,’’ he added.