In the Almost Famous XI

Rajasthan

Debut Season: 1994-1995

Rashmi ranjan Parida remembers his first visit to Mumbai in 1998 to play a match for Orissa against the star-studded home team,which had players like Sachin Tendulkar,Vinod Kambli and Abey Kuruvilla. After traveling for 36 hours in a second-class compartment,they were amused to see the local liaison man standing outside the AC coach,expecting the players to alight from it. At the practice session at Wankhede Stadium,the whole team stood behind the nets to watch Tendulkar bat,forgetting they were on the rival side. Coach aake bola,Tum log bhi practice kar lo,ke sirf dekhte rahoge unko? It was the first time we’d seen Tendulkar live. Mazaa aa gaya, he says.

At 34,Parida doesn’t hesitate saying he wished he were born 10 years later. He says he has missed the riches of the Indian Premier League IPL,as well as the shot it gives youngsters at entering the Indian team. But after playing nearly 17 years of first-class cricket and representing three different states Orissa,Assam and Rajasthan the middle-order batsman has completed his India yatra,and jokes of visiting places even BJP leader LK Advani hasn’t been to.

Parida is no longer anxious every time the national selection meeting convenes,nor can he attach to himself that cruel appendage of an India-discard he never got there. But he is proud to set a benchmark for youngsters.

From getting a Rs 1,000-match fee to earning Rs 1 lakh per match,Parida says cricket has certainly changed for the better. Today you perform in three IPL matches and you are in the limelight. In the 90s,it took me five years of hard work in domestic games to get a place in the India A side. These boys get an allowance of Rs 1,000 but that used to be our entire match fees, he says.

Had he not got the cushion of a job after graduating in science,Parida couldn’t have afforded to play cricket in the late 90s. Performing consistently for Orissa since 1994,Parida finally made it to the India A team in 1999 and later travelled to Sri Lanka. In 2000,he was the highest run-getter in the domestic circuit,which earned him a place in the India A side which was to play against the touring England A team. Dinesh Mongia and I were running for the same slot in the Indian team. He got the break. Till 2002,I was in the fray but after that things changed, he says.

Playing domestic cricket without motivation was tough,but after 2004,the BCCI began disbursing its funds to state associations. Soon,professional players were in demand. His earnings in the last three years are more than what he made in the previous decade. The passion for cricket doesn’t allow us to quit. I know that the distance between the Indian jersey and me is like that between the earth and the moon. But the money which I have made in three years as a professional cricketer has helped me settle down, he says.

Parida played many Ranji Trophy matches without a single spectator in the audience. Not everyone gets stardom,only a few exceptional ones get it. In a country of a billion,at least I’m lucky to represent the state.

Shitanshu kotak,39

Saurashtra

Debut Season: 1992-1993

Its close of play on Day Three of the Ranji match between Saurashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The crowd at the Cantonment Cricket Ground in Meerut is restless,as it jostles,trying to get close to the players. The objects of their crazed affection are the three current India internationals playing in the match Praveen Kumar and Suresh Raina of the UP team,and Ravindra Jadeja of Saurashtra. Jadeja is the only one on the field and he scampers to safety before the fans burst past the barricades and invade the field. In the midst of the chaos,Sitanshu Kotak,39-year-old Saurashtra batsman,attempts to complete his cool-down.

Having missed Jadeja,Raina and Kumar,the spectators look elsewhere.

Kotak is mobbed. After signing about a dozen papers,one fan finally asks who he is. Kotak,a veteran of 105 Ranji matches and over 7,000 runs the only Saurashtra player to reach that figure simply smiles and gives his name. It doesn’t bother me that I haven’t got that fame and recognition. I play cricket because I love to play cricket. When I don’t love it anymore,I won’t play, he says.

Kotak had his chance to break out of regional obscurity in the 1998-99 Ranji season. I scored about 800 runs in eight matches that season,plus a hundred each in Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. I played for the Rest of India team and scored a hundred against Karnataka. But I wasn’t picked. Had someone done the same thing today,they would have been on TV for a week,I got a small article the day after. That’s life, he says with a shrug.

Instead,Kotak became famous for his stonewalling knocks,and one of the forces behind Saurashtra’s rise in the league. He now sees his role as someone who provides solidity to the middle order. His second and more crucial role,he says,is to guide the rookies in the squad. His advice centres on the need to make the most of time and ability. I tell Jadeja that when you are in your 20s,the hard work you put in will help you improve. That his is the time to work hard and improve physically and skill-wise. When you turn 30,you won’t get the same results no matter how much effort you put in. You can only maintain what you have, he says.

While he never made it to the biggest league,this Rajkot boy doesn’t think the domestic circuit is something to be scoffed at. Ranji has never been an easy tournament and you must respect it. You play different bowlers in different conditions on different pitches across the country. Even if you are the best batsman,you can never say that you will show up and score a century. Even if you are the best bowler,you can’t say you will take five wickets, he says.

Jonathan Selvaraj

Mithun manhas,32

Delhi

Debut Season: 1997-1998

Mithun manhas doesnt quite remember who gave him the Delhi cap on his first-class debut that was so long ago,in 1997. He does recall walking down the old Willingdon pavilion at Delhis Ferozeshah Kotla stadium,a teenager from Kashmir,when the late Raman Lambha stopped him,and dissuaded him from returning to his home state. Lambha,who was impressed watching the youngster bat alongside him in several matches for Delhi club Sonnet,said,Who plays for Jamp;K? You have a bright future,make your mark here. With 11,864 runs in 14 years of domestic cricket,Manhas has done that and more. You feel proud when opposition teams regard you as their main threat. I have had so many instances where other team bowlers have walked up to me and said,Ab bus out ho jao’, he says.

Manhas’s regret is that he was born in the wrong era for a middle-order batsman. But greater still is the regret that he never got a chance to show if he was good enough for the Indian team. But at least I am called a doyen of domestic cricket,thats a good tag to live with, he says. He hasnt given up on the dream though. You never know,with so much of cricket and if the selectors need some experience,I might just make it, he says.

The respect from younger players keeps him going on the field. I feel happy when they look up to me. I tell them,dont try and match me,be better than me because I wasnt good enough to play for India, says Manhas. But he will retire,he says,only when the youngest member of the team beats me in doing laps and outscores me.

GS Vivek

Yere Goud,40

Railways

Debut Season: 1994-1995

Yere goud is the first Railways player to show up for morning practice ahead of a crucial Ranji match against Rajasthan,though he could be forgiven for taking it easy. After 117 Ranji matches,6,704 runs and 17 seasons,the 40-year-old has decided this season will be his last. Yet here he is,hunched over the pitch at Delhi’s Karnail Singh Stadium,inspecting it closely.

Even recently,Goud would speak of his desire to play for India. Foolhardy though it might have seemed,Goud says having that dream was important. Even if it seems impossible,you must have the belief. If you want to play for India,you will want to be the best in the country. And even if you don’t succeed,you will have done very well, says Goud. Three of Gouds teammates,Murali Kartik,Sanjay Bangar and JP Yadav,have played for India. The only chance Goud mentions was when he was picked for India A in 2001-02,after ending up as the lead scorer in Ranji Trophy with 901 runs. A Jaipur match against England A was his best shot at the India cap. On a difficult pitch,he managed 0 and 13. He never got another opportunity,but thrived in domestic cricket,winning two Ranji titles,playing for Railways. Only two players have played more Ranji matches than him.

In his previous match,Goud faced Karnataka,a side he had captained in 2006 and 2007,and which had amongst the most formidable bowling line-ups in domestic cricket. Goud was untroubled. When you have been in the game for as long as I have,there is nothing you have not seen before. You don’t worry about how the best bowler might bowl. You simply treat each ball on its merit, he says. With the end of the road in sight,Goud is looking to enjoy every moment. The most exciting bit is when he goes out to bat. Even now I get butterflies in my stomach, he says.

Jonathan Selvaraj