Indians on the English county circuit, though fewer in number than in 2003, are having an impact. Dinesh Mongia’s all-round display on Sunday won Leicestershire their first limited overs game of the season. And Irfan Pathan, who joins Middlesex against Gloucestershire this weekend, is being described as the most exciting overseas player to join the county circuit.Two years ago Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Javagal Srinath all graced the circuit. But numbers don’t matter; Mongia has been flying the flag high at Grace Road, the Leicestershire ground.Top-scoring with 67 out of a total of 194, Mongia went onto claim his career-best figures of 4-15 to single-handedly win the game for his county.‘‘It’s a big county and to win a game for them is something I am very proud of’’, Mongia told The Indian Express from Leicester. ‘‘I hope my performances help me gain a Test berth back home.’’Mongia had a successful county season last year too, in two stints with Lancashire when he replaced former West Indies captain Carl Hooper and former Australian batsman Stuart Law. He averaged 67.14 in nine Championship innings and was the most economical bowler in the Twenty20 Cup competition.Even this season, three weeks old, he has had a string of half-centuries to his name against top county sides like Yorkshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey. ‘‘I owe a lot of my success to Andy Flower, who is my mentor and a good friend. Since last year he’s been guiding me about the technical adjustments I need to make to succeed on the county circuit.’’‘‘This year he advised me to keep my defensive line strong and play tight cricket. He told me that the wickets are still wet and slow, making batting very difficult’’, Mongia added.Surprisingly, Mongia’s stint has been the finest in the last three years despite stalwarts like Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Kaif. However, the most successful Indian batsman in the last 15 years has been Mohammad Azharuddin, with Derbyshire. AN INDIAN XI ABROAD
