Indian cricketer in focus: Mohit Sharma - reaping the fruits of consistency

CSK lost its first three matches at home, the only saving grace being Mohit who picked up 19 scalps in these games, troubling the batsmen constantly. The Ranji season ended with him taking 37 wickets, the fifth highest, including three 5-wicket hauls. Talent scouts from the CSK camp zeroed in on him, Bichel was convinced about his talent, and the next thing we know, he was donning the yellow jersey.

Mohit Sharma

As a matter of fact, he was being pursued by at least three franchises, but was eventually pocketed by the Super Kings.

Thereon, there was no kind of looking back for this Haryana lad.

With the wickets column after the conclusion of IPL 2013 adding up to 20 scalps that boasts of big international names like Warner, McCullum, Yuvraj et al, who all succumbed to an obdurate adherence to accuracy, he earned the backing of Dhoni, and consequently featured in almost all CSK matches.

And if Dhoni backs a player relentlessly, it is hard for the selectors to not acknowledge him.

As if on cue, came this tour to Zimbabwe at a very crucial juncture, both in terms of his career and taking into account how the selectors are trying to identify and groom talent before the preparations for the World Cup defence take full swing. Almost all regular faces in the bowling department have been rested, and it would be great to see how he fares at the international level.

Talent is there all right, and this will probably be a test of his temperament and adaptability should the team management choose to allow him to let out steam in Zimbabwe, which seems more than likely.

“I’ll be ready when the moment comes”, he lets out confidently.