EX-HONG KONG SKIPPER RATH ELIGIBLE TO PLAY FOR VID

■ By Anupam Soni :

Anshuman completes one-year cooling-off period by staying in Nagpur, joins VCA’s online camp

IN THE Asia Cup held at Dubai in 2018 when Anshuman Rath was leading Hong Kong, his side came very close to upsetting India. Rath (73) and fellow opener Nizakat Khan (92) had led the charge adding 174 runs. But the associate member team, chasing India’s score of 285-7, could reach 259-8 going down by 26 runs. Rath, who is just 22, now has relocated himself to India and hopes to “bleed blue” some day representing India. The southpaw batsman, who also bowls slow left-arm orthodox, has cleared the first step towards his final goal by joining VCA’s online camp very recently.

“I have just started doing the fitness stuff online with theVCA. Mohammad Hashim is leading the strength and conditioning unit. I have also been in contact with Trevor (Gonsalves) Sir. He has helped me integrate into the side. Presently the activity is just online, not very hectic. But...so far so good,” Rath said while talking to‘The Hitavada’ after a strenuous practice session at Nagpur Cricket Academy housed at Kurvey’s High School ground near Deekshabhoomi. On what made him choose Vidarbha, the top-order batsman said,“I have an Indian passport so shifting was not a problem for me. I was required to live in Vidarbha for a year to qualify. When I decided to shift to India I had to make a very strategic decision on choosing the place I settle for. I am not 15-16 so that I can start from anywhere.

I found Vidarbha perfectly fit for me. “Vidarbha has got amazing facility.There are some very good grounds across Nagpur. The Vidarbha team has been very successful in last couple of years, not just the seniors, but also the youth. The U-19 and U-23 teams have been winning titles so I felt the structure was in place. “When I interacted with players and people here I found them so down-to-earth and of helping nature, I decided to finalise Nagpur. They made me feel right at home. In other places I might have felt alone and isolated. I thank a lot of people. Mr Bakre, he’s one of them. I have had a smooth transition and that made my life very easy,” said Rath who played the last domestic season for the Ministerial Services Sports Club (MSSC). Rath was all praise for the facilities in Nagpur.

“I cannot comment on the facilities offered at VCA since I have not been there yet but the facilities at NCA have improved a lot in just one year. It’s fantastic and I am very happy with my training here. I need all that I require here. You cannot ask for more,” he said. First-Class players playing club cricket in Nagpur has impressed Rath. “It was nice to play and integrate with the players. It was very nice to see some First-Class players also playing the tournament. I have played country cricket and you don’t find FC players going anywhere near club cricket. Unfortunately, weather played a part with half the season cut down and then it was COVID. I could not have full season but the standard was very good. Sometimes the wickets were challenging which is good for the batsmen and even for the bowlers,” Rath said.

On his short and long term targets, Rath said, “To break into the Vidarbha side is the short term target. The competition here is very healthy and breaking into the team would be my first priority. Obviously, everyone’s long term goal is to ‘bleed blue’. Hopefully one day I could do that (play for India).” Bakre finds Rath very talented NAGPUR Cricket Academy Director Madhav Bakre is quite impressed with Rath’s talent, clarity of thought and work ethics. “Anshuman is a very talented cricketer. He has an array of shots and looks a very classy batsman. He is comfortable against both pace and spin. “He has a very clear mind. He knows what he wants to do and is doing exactly that.

It is almost a year that he is training at my facility and that I can say with strong conviction that he has the ability not only to play for Vidarbha but also for India,” said Bakre, whose academy has gave five international players across age groups including a woman cricketer. “Anshuman is a very down-toearth person. We all here at the academy never felt that an international player is training with us. He is not very fluent in Hindi but understands it completely. He is very friendly with the support staff and also takes good care of them,” added Bakre.

‘Anshuman qualifies all BCCI norms’ VIDARBHA Cricket Association Vice-President and Chairman of the Cricket Administration and Development Committee Prashant Vaidya confirmed that Anshuman Rath has been included in the online camp by Vidarbha selectors and that he is eligible to representVidarbha. “Yes, Rath has been included in the (online) camp. He has been playing local cricket in Nagpur since last year and he qualifies to play for us ( Vidarbha) as per the BCCI norms. His performance was also good. He did pretty well in the local tournaments and the selectors have added him along with a few others in the probables list. He is an Indian passport holder and has settled in Nagpur.

“He got employed at some company here last year and also qualifies the employment norms as set by the BCCI. We have to inform BCCI about our registered players by October 15 and in the current scenario it (the date) might get extended. It is for every age group that we have to provide the list of our players who are likely to represent Vidarbha in the coming season,” the former India pacer informed. “We send all the papers to BCCI which verifies those. If they say everything is okay then the concerned players are eligible to be selected to represent the association,” Vaidya added. Anshuman Rath along with Nagpur Cricket Academy (NCA) Director Madhav Bakre (R). (Pics Umesh Varma/Moonlight) ‘