BANGALORE, OCT 6: The passers-by in the busy Surveyor Street in Gandhi Bazaar in Bangalore ignored the group of youngsters huddled in conversation. That group, formed by state cricketers Anand Katti, B Akhil, A Vijay, among many others, also had in their midst the new sensation of Indian cricket, Vijay R Bharadwaj.His father, brother, mother and sister eagerly waited him at home to greet him on his selection in the Indian team. But Bharadwaj himself treated it as just another day, preferring to chat with friends.Bharadwaj, who earned the `Man of the tournament' award in the recently concluded Four-Nation tourney at Nairobi, was aware that he had been selected to represent India in the first Test against the visiting New Zealand. ``I am happy to be in the National team. But I would be happiest if I can win matches for India,'' he said.The 24-year-old right-handed batsman broke the National record for highest number of runs in a season by scoring 1280 in 1998-99 season. He also bagged six wickets inthe Ranji Trophy final, thereby bowling Karnataka to victory. As such, he said he was expecting a national call.``It is not a big surprise,'' said the beaming Bharadwaj.``I took my friends out for lunch to celebrate,'' said the lanky batsman who is a strict vegetarian. A student of Nivedita Primary School and Vijaya High School, Bharadwaj took to cricket like a fish to water. Bharadwaj, attended the selection trials for the India under-19 team at Mumbai when he was 17. Luck did not favour this shy-natured cricketer.Unperturbed, he worked hard and kept scoring until he matured into a fine batsman. He earned the reputation of being next only to Rahul Dravid in Karnataka cricket.``I practice the whole day. I try for perfection in shotmaking. Although that part is impossible, it has paid dividends.''Bharadwaj was so dedicated to the game that he joined an evening college during his graduation days (Vijaya College) so that he could spend the entire day playing the game.
