Ranji Trophy - For Mayank Mishra, it's never too late to keep getting better

Uttarakhand allrounder Mayank Mishra was left disheartened after being snubbed for the Duleep Trophy. His haul of 59 wickets in the previous Ranji Trophy season was second only to Auqib Nabi. However, he has moved on since and is prepared to do the heavy lifting for Uttarakhand this season as well.

Against Tamil Nadu at Chepauk, Mishra wheeled away for 37 overs, taking five wickets with his left-arm fingerspin, including those of centurion Pradosh Ranjan Paul and half-centurion B Indrajith.

“When I don’t find myself anywhere [in Duleep Trophy or other squads] after getting 59 wickets in eight matches… it just made me think that I have to just do the process,” Mishra said after stumps on day two. “I can only do what’s in my hands. If getting 59 wickets in a season, you won’t get any recognition or you won’t get selected for anything, you don’t think too much after that. I can’t describe it [the disappointment] in words, to be honest.”

Mishra turned 36 earlier this month and with capped internationals such as Saransh Jain and Harsh Dubey in the Central Zone squad along with wristspinner Zeeshan Ansari, who turned out for India A in July, there was no room for Mishra.

Mishra is a late bloomer, having made his first-class debut for Uttarakhand when he was 28. Before becoming a professional Ranji player, Mishra was actually a cricket coach at Sherwood College in Nainital. He has come a long way since and is currently Uttarakhand’s leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket with 184 scalps in 43 matches at an average of 23.35.

“I was a coach in Sherwood College about nine years ago,” Mishra said. “Because we didn’t have a team [for Uttarakhand] at the time. But after that when we got the affiliation from the BCCI, I wanted to try [becoming a professional cricketer] at least one more time and I succeeded [playing for Uttarakhand].”

While opportunities at the higher level have remained elusive, regular club cricket stints in England have tuned Mishra up to bowl long spells and maintain control in the Ranji Trophy. Mishra has a simple, repeatable action and varies his pace smartly. He can also get his arm ball to skid into the pads.

“Before I used to only bowl a bit quicker through the air,” Mishra said. “But since I have been playing in the UK, I also got to learn how to bowl slowly. So, that helps me as well in the domestic circuit. I have been doing well in the UK as well. In the last two seasons, I was the highest wicket-taker in the Premier League in England. So, I just want to get an opportunity wherever I can. I’m ready for that.”

When Mishra was in England, he got an opportunity to pick the brains of Ravindra Jadeja when the latter was touring the country with the India team last year.

“Ravindra Jadeja is one of my idols along with Daniel Vettori. I got a chance to speak to Jadeja in England,” Mishra recalled. “I wanted to know how he bowls long spells, how fit he is and how he helps the team both with ball and bat. I want to do the same thing for my team.”

In the previous season, Mishra dovetailed nicely with fellow left-arm fingerspinner J Suchith in Uttarakhand’s run to their maiden Ranji semi-finals. Both can contribute with the bat as well and Uttarakhand head coach Manish Jha acknowledged the balance they bring to the line-up.

“If you have No. 6 and No. 7 who can bat as well…and both are left-arm spinners,” Jha said on the eve of their second-round game against Tamil Nadu in Chennai. “In Indian cricket, left-arm spinners are suited to these conditions [especially against right-handers]. So apart from bowling, with batting as well Mishra and Suchith bring a lot of value to our set-up.”

Deivarayan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

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