Pawar146;s persistence pays off

Pawar, who initially played seven seasons for Mumbai, decided to shift to Baroda after Sairaj Bahutule, Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni began to the man the Mumbai spin attack.

With three quality spinners in the team, Pawar felt he would never be able to find a permanent place in the side.

According to coach Naik, it is his hard work that has paid off for Pawar today. 8220;I think he should have been given the chance two years back, but it8217;s good that he8217;s got the opportunity now at least,8221; said Naik.

The 27-year-old Pawar took 36 wickets at an average of 24.52 for Baroda this season and is a handy batsman too. He has more than 1000 runs in first-class cricket and has bagged 214 wickets in 59 matches so far.