By Paritosh Pramanik
Two surprises in a span of 11 days! Vidarbha spinner Harsh Dubey wouldn’t have asked for more.
On May 5, Dubey was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad as a replacement player in the IPL and on Friday, May 16, he got an India A call-up for the England tour!
The BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming tour of England, where the team will play two First-Class matches against the England Lions at Canterbury (May 30) and Northampton (June 6). The tour will conclude with a match against Team India (June 13).
The team also included another Vidarbha professional Karun Nair who made a rollicking comeback this Ranji season with 863 runs from nine games at an impressive average of 53.93.
Nair, who last played in India whites against England in 2017, was tipped for a comeback after his heroics for Vidarbha. He was instrumental in helping Vidarbha lift their third Ranji title in March earlier this year.
The last few months has been favourable for left-arm spinner Dubey and in his own words he is “inching closer to fulfilling his ultimate dream of playing for India.”
After a superb Ranji Trophy season with title winning squad Vidarbha, everybody was expecting an India call for Dubey. The man of the tournament for his 476 runs and 69 wickets, Dubey attracted selectors’ attention and was praised by many critics of the game.
Not only in Ranji Trophy, but also in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Dubey’s performance was praiseworthy.
Dubey, who landed in Lucknow for SRH’s IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants, when he got the selection news, said that he is concentrating on the game at hand against LSG.
“I had got a hint of getting selected for the England tour. But at present I am concentrating on the upcoming match against LSG. That is my first priority. Yes, it is great news for me and for the entire Vidarbha and this opportunity will help me gain experience,” Dubey told ‘The Hitavada’ from Lucknow.
“My ultimate dream is to play for the senior Indian team and I am inching closer to fulfilling that dream,” said Dubey.
TEARS OF JOY IN
PARENTS’ EYES
Harsh Dubey’s parents Surendra and Jyoti had tears of joy in their eyes when they got the news of their son getting India ‘A’ berth for England tour.
Harsh’s father Surendra said that patience pays and the Vidarbha spinner has proved.
“We were eagerly waiting for this day. Harsh has been waiting patiently. He never got dejected despite his fine performance in the last couple of years. He used to say ‘there might be something which I am not doing to achieve my dream.’ But he kept calm and tried to iron out flaws in his performance,” Surendra told ‘The Hitavada; with a choked voice.
“He is a mature kid. He always says that ‘if I am capable I would be selected. Selection is not in his hands and he only wanted to better his performance,” added Surendra.
Harsh’s mother Jyoti, too, was over the moon. “Bahut khushi ho rahi hai. Do-do khush khabar kuch hi dino mey....(I am very happy. Two good news in a short span...),” she said. I can’t hold my tears back, it is such big news. Harsh has worked really hard for this day and today his hard work has paid,” she said.adding “have to go to a sweet shop to buy sweets for well-wishers.”
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