Das the key to India's starting hiccups

Shiv Sunder Das © CricInfo

In the face of a chronic scarcity of competent opening batsmen at Test level, Shiv Sunder Das could be just the man to fill the yawning gap at the top of the order. Blessed with an excellent temperament, the Orissa opener focuses on keeping the game simple, prodding the scoreboard through an array of sound cricketing shots without trying to be flashy.

A former India Under-17 captain, Das has journeyed through the ranks of junior level cricket with distinction. Although making 98 on his first class debut as a 16-year-old in the 1993-94 Ranji Trophy prequarterfinals, he was no overnight prodigy, honing his skills over several seasons of domestic cricket. In the 1999-2000 first class season, Das scored 799 runs at 49.93 with one century apiece in the Ranji and Duleep Trophies.

The big break for him was selection to the National Cricket Academy in May 2000 where he got the chance to interact closely with his idol Sunil Gavaskar among others. In June-July, Das visited the Australian Cricket Academy under the Gavaskar-Border scholarship, which he believes was the best thing that happened to him. The intensive sixweek course has instilled a sense of professionalism in the pint-sized opener. Das' attitude towards the game has matured and his confidence levels have soared sky high. The sojourn Down Under has firmed up his backfoot play, especially cutting and pulling.

Das was in full cry during the NCA's victorious campaign in the MRF- Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai in September, making a marvellous 184 against Karnataka. Having seen six different Test openers tried out last season, with scant success, 23-year-old Das senses the opportunity lurking ahead and is girding his loins for the challenge. Here are some excerpts of a conversation with him after the Irani Trophy in Mumbai.

I first started playing for my state in 1992 at U-16 level. In 1993-94 I had a good season in U-19's with one double hundred and a big hundred against Bihar. That's how I got picked for the Ranji Trophy that year. I made my Ranji debut in 1993-94 against Madhya Pradesh and got 98. That was a turning point because Orissa were looking for an opener. That was the first big game for me and I did perform well.

When I started playing cricket, I opened the innings in U-16. In between for two innings in U-19, I was shifted to the middle order. But after one year I started opening again. Opening comes naturally to me.

I think it was one of the best things that happened to me as a cricketer. The experience was brilliant. We had Rodney Marsh as Director of the Academy and Wayne Phillips as coach. They stressed a lot on physical fitness. The nets were just for one and a half hours. There were also a lot of batting drills done. I think my attitude towards cricket has improved a lot. We did boxing which was a new experience. We had never done that sort of thing before. It was also a new experience to play against bowling machines. You can just set your pace and practice cuts, pulls and so on. I think all this is going to help me a lot. The Aussies are very professional. There is a stress on quality, not quantity. They're always very aggressive in their attitude, always very confident. My confidence levels have gone up after staying in Australia for six weeks.

It was very systematic. We had to maintain a diary. I never trained so hard during the off season. That way I think it was good for my cricket. We had a dietician coming twice a week. We had psychology classes. So it was a completely different thing for us. We got to learn a lot from these classes. I think it was a privilege for us when Sunil Gavaskar came to the Academy. He was there for 2-3 days. Being an opener and being my idol, he really helped me a lot. I spoke to him for about half an hour and sorted out some technical problems with him.

I've improved a lot. Six months ago I was totally a different player. My footwork has improved a lot. My backfoot play is much better than what it was earlier. In Australia we did a lot of slashes and cuts and pulls. These areas of my game have also improved.

I think it would be my debut game. It was my first class debut and I had to deliver the goods for my team. I had just played a few games at U-19 level. So under the circumstances, that is one of the best innings I played.