Ramesh expected national call-up

CHENNAI, JAN 22: I was expecting it,'' he said confidently when asked for his reaction. And why not? After his recent exploits, which c...

CHENNAI, JAN 22: “I was expecting it,” he said confidently when asked for his reaction. And why not? After his recent exploits, which came on top of a consistent record over the past three years, Sadagopan Ramesh’s selection for the Indian team to play Pakistan in the first Test commencing here from January 28 should not have surprised anyone. After all, the tall Tamil Nadu left-handed opening batsman has been on the fringe of selection for some time now.

With chairman of selectors Ajit Wadekar announcing that Ramesh and Laxman will open the batting, he will not be having butterflies in the stomach as to his inclusion in the playing eleven. But then, Ramesh has never been a player afflicted by nerves.

The common complaint against Tamil Nadu players is that they possess talent and technique but lack temperament. Ramesh, on the contrary, has an unflappable temperament with the ability to rise to the big occasion. When he got his break in the Ranji Trophy in 1995-’96, he scored a century, going on to make700-plus runs in his first season.

The next year, on his Duleep Trophy debut, he again got a hundred. This year, when elevated to the India A team which played West Indies A, he, not surprisingly, repaid the selectors’ confidence with a stroke-filled 138 in the first Test’ at Bangalore.

Former Indian captain and current India A coach Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who saw Ramesh as India material quite some time back, was thrilled at his inclusion. “He has the natural grace that is associated with left handers and has a lot of time to play his shots. He is in form and I am confident he will the most of this opportunity.”

During the India A-West Indies A series last month, Srikkanth asserted that Ramesh was ready for the India cap. “He has enough potential to fill the slot successfully,” he said.

The 23-year-old Ramesh, who stands 5 feet 11 inches, has come up through the ranks. While a student of RKM HSS and Santhome in the city, he excelled in junior cricket, making his mark first as an off-spinner.The largely self made cricketer has just completed his BA Economics degree from Guru Nanak college.

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He has got the kind of opening that few cricketers get — to make their Test debut on their home ground. And there is every possibility that Ramesh will make the most of the opportunity.