Pankaj Singh on early struggles, unlucky India debut, first-class record and more: Full text of interview with Rajasthan pacer

Remember Pankaj Singh? The tall, burly pacer who once played Tests for India? The one who got christened ‘unlucky Pankaj’ after ending up with the most expensive match figures by a Test debutant without a wicket? The one who took 26 spells, 69 overs and 415 balls to earn his maiden international wicket on that tough England tour in 2014? The one who kept toiling hard in the domestic arena for years and years, churning out wickets on unfavourable surfaces just to get that opportunity once again to represent his country?

Well, the same Pankaj has become just the fourth Indian pacer to scalp 400 wickets in first-class cricket. He is also the first Rajasthan bowler to do so. Three years after being dropped from the India squad following a tough debut series against England, Pankaj is still going strong.

He finished as the joint third-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season with 41 wickets. And at 31, it looks like he is getting better.

He delays the interview for a couple of days because he wants to concentrate on the ongoing Irani Cup, but true to his promise, invites me to his hotel room the next day. After finishing his prayers, he greets us with a warm handshake and takes us through the roller-coaster ride that is Pankaj Singh’s career so far in a heart-to-heart chat with Firstpost. Full text of the interview:

You are now one of the four pace bowlers in the country to have scalped 400 wickets in first-class cricket. Talk us through your journey.

Pankaj: Well, the journey has been great. I’ve achieved a lot. From where I started I didn’t know I will make it this far. However, somewhere at the back of my mind it was always there that I want to play for India. The journey was good if you consider the beginning, but right now, I feel I could have played much better.

How did your cricketing journey begin?

Pankaj: Just like every other teenager, I used to play cricket on the streets, but it took me a while to decide whether I should enter professional cricket. It was because I hail from Amaithi (a village in Bihar), where progressing in cricket or any other field was difficult, especially 12 years ago. I think I was 17-18 when I finally decided to play professionally and the credit goes to Asad Ahmed, who introduced me to Munawar Ali, who in turn brought me into professional cricket and helped me a lot in every aspect.

Tell us a bit more about Munawar Ali’s contribution in your career?

Pankaj: Both Asad and Munawar have a lot of importance in my life. Of the people I knew, Asad had played more cricket than anyone else. He was the person who had introduced me to Munawar. At that time my mind was swinging between whether to play cricket or not because in some of the university matches I wasn’t selected despite the fact that he had insisted me to play. Then during the 25th year of our college, we won the inter-degree tournament. Later on, in the selection 10 out of 11 players of my team were selected and I was the only one left out. That was quite disheartening and I thought I don’t want to play cricket or any sport right now. But during a club match, Munawarji saw me playing and asked me whether I would like to come to Kolkata to play cricket. That’s where it all began for me.

From there what was your next step?

Pankaj: I practised for a month in Kolkata but then had to return home for my exams. Munawar sir then informed me about the Bangalore game and asked me to join the All-India U-19 tour, where I performed well and also took five wickets in a match. That’s when he introduced me to Brijesh Patel who was then the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

He told me to visit the U-17 national camp where Parthasarthy Sharma was the head coach. I went there and bowled for about an hour. Mr Sharma was impressed and he told me to wait because Rahul Dravid was going to come for practice and I had to bowl to him! I bowled to Dravid for about an hour and I don’t know what they discussed later. I was told by Brijesh Patel to wait longer as the India A camp was scheduled for the next two-three days, and practice with them. At that time I was very new to cricket, I didn’t know much about Bangalore.

We had planned for a 15-day tour but suddenly they told us to extend it for a month. It was difficult to manage financially in comparison to the advanced technology we have now – ATM jao aur paise nikaal lo. (simply go to the ATM and withdraw money) So, in that way, Munawar helped me a lot. He introduced me to Mr Anand who looked after everything from accommodation to health. He helped me get back a sizeable amount of tour fees. He then introduced me to the owner of Anand sweets who took up my food and accomodation expenditures and also gifted me a pair of shoes. That was the first time I bowled with shoes with spikes.

Did Rahul Dravid give you any feedback?

Pankaj: Not really, but he told me that I bowled well. After a while, I was told by Brijesh sir that I would be continuing to bowl at the national camp. Later on, I was sent for the MRF academy.

When did you realise that you are made for the highest level, that is international cricket?

Pankaj: When I was practising in Bangalore, I was a newbie. I had just come out of club cricket and played a maximum of 15-20 overs of cricket and then suddenly I was bowling to Dravid and practising with India A, bowling to the likes of Irfan Pathan and Wasim Jaffer. There’s one interesting incident where I had helped Jaffer with knocking and he told me to collect a T-shirt and track pant. To be honest, I didn’t have much knowledge about cricket and the players. I didn’t recognise Jaffer at the moment. One of the boys, however, told me that ‘Wasim bhai’ had asked me to collect the track suit from his room. So I went to the room and I saw Irfan Pathan sitting there. He knew I wasn’t recognising Jaffer, so he gave me a low-down on who all were there in the team and gave me the track suit. At that time Madan Lal was the coach, and that’s when I realised I could do well in cricket because I was bowling to India players and things were going pretty well, and the response was motivating as well. Everybody was appreciating me, including the coach.

How did you enter first-class cricket?

Pankaj: I was quite fortunate in my life. As I said earlier, I didn’t make it to my university team, but at the time when I was thinking of quitting sports, I played in the Ranji Trophy, U-19 and U-22 sides within a year. From there I came here (Mumbai) with Munawar sir and practised here for a month. When I was in the India A camp, Mr Parthasarthy Sharma, who was Rajasthan’s TIDO and U-17 head coach, had asked me to join the Rajasthan team. I didn’t answer him at that time because of a lack of knowledge. I spoke with Munawar sir also, and even Madan Lal sir told me, “Come to Delhi, I’ll teach you and will make you play in some state team.”

Then I went to the MRF Pace Academy after a one-month camp. During my time at the MRF academy, I met Sharma sir again. He asked again if I was still interested in playing for Rajasthan. I was in contact with Munaf Patel (former India pacer) and also with Munawar sir. He (Munaf) told me if there was an offer from the state, it was a big thing and I should take it. At that time, I didn’t know which my state was and which were the other states. I was very raw. Nobody from my family was ever associated with cricket. I still remember what Munaf told me back then because that is the kind of guidance you expect. Even Munawar sir told me I should join Rajasthan rather than Delhi. Hence, I joined Rajasthan.

Considering so much happened with you in such a short time, did nervousness creep in?

Pankaj: No, I wasn’t nervous, because I had played a lot of sports like volleyball, basketball, athletics and I was into cricket since childhood. Wherever I played, I was constantly doing well and maybe that was the reason I was never tense.

I played club cricket and did well there too. I even took five wickets in a match and everyone appreciated me. I was always ready for competition. It was never a case that since I was going to play in some big matches I should be worried if I don’t get through.

Also, my first match for a Rajasthan team – a Rajasthan Colts side in the MRF Trophy – was my first 90-overs state tournament match. Before the match, I was unsure if I would manage to stick around for 90 overs. But fortunately, I took a wicket in the very first ball, in the second over and again in the third. So, it was three wickets in three overs in the very first state game and I had bowled 10 overs in total, giving away 32 runs.

I had bowled in two spells, one comprising seven and another three overs and I was very happy that I bowled 10 overs and took three wickets. But nowadays you have to bowl at least 18 or 20 overs in a 90-overs game, and I know that I should go for a fifer if I already have three wickets in 10 overs. But at that time it was too much for me because I had hardly bowled more than five overs. So things were going really fast. If I had failed at that time I would have been tense going forward, but wickets in three consecutive matches just kept instilling confidence.

You were playing for Rajasthan continuously. When did you realise you were ready for the national team?

Pankaj: I’m not sure if I was ready, but since the start, I had always wanted to play for India. That was pretty clear. Even though I was unaware of the states, I wanted to play for India. I didn’t know much about the Ranji Trophy as well. But when I came to cricket, I got to know how important the Ranji Trophy and the whole selection process was and how you could get into the Indian team. I had to perform well. It was in 2007-08 that I was selected as a part of the Indian team (on the Australia tour). I was even in the fitness camp in 2007. I started in 2004-05 and by 2007-08 I was in the national side. So everything was going smoothly.

You weren’t selected in the playing eleven on the Australia tour in 2007-08. How did you feel?

Pankaj: I was selected for the India A team and emerged as the highest wicket-taker, taking a total of 17 wickets in five List A and two first-class matches. I had some 10 wickets in those five List A matches. After that in practice matches, I took two wickets in 10-12 overs. Everything was getting better and as I had planned. Not getting the opportunity in the playing eleven of the national side (during the Australia tour in 2007-08) was the first time that I was facing a barrier. Once you are out of the picture, it takes a long time to get into the mix again.

Did you ever feel that you will come back after six-seven years?

Pankaj: When I went with the Indian team for the first time and didn’t get a chance to play, of course, I felt devastated as it was my childhood dream to play for the country. But somewhere I also knew that everything happened very fast and it doesn’t always go your way. Kahi na kahi dimag me ye tha ki mai khel sakta hu aur mai khelunga. (Somewhere I felt that I can play and I will) That determination was always there and the hunger to fulfil my dream kept on increasing.

Was there anything special that you learned on that Australia tour?

Pankaj: Obviously, I learnt a lot. Training with the top 15 players of the country gives you a lot of mental toughness. You could see how players like Sachin Tendulkar paaji and the other stars fought back. I knew there were a lot of controversies on that tour and I witnessed how the players stayed united. We lost the first two matches (Tests) and won the third one after all the controversy. I got to know how tough you had to be mentally to play at that level.

After six years, how did you react when you were selected to the national side for the second time, this time against England?

Pankaj: Obviously, frustration had started to creep in because five-six years had passed by and I didn’t hear from them (the national selectors). By that time we were already crowned as world champions twice (in the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup). Also, I had delivered some brilliant performances and was in the highest wicket-takers’ list. Still I wasn’t getting picked and often wondered why it was happening the way it was. Aap har cheez acchi kar rahe ho, har jagah perform kar rahe ho, fir bhi aap pick nahi ho rahe kahi bhi. (You were doing everything well and performing well everywhere, but still weren’t getting picked) That was a very difficult and very frustrating time for me and then suddenly when I got the India call-up again, it felt like new life was breathed into my career. It is almost impossible to explain in words how I felt.

Take us through that roller-coaster ride on debut at Southampton (in the third Test of the 2014 series against England).

Pankaj: My best time was till 2008-09 when I kept on achieving success everywhere and things kept happening quickly. From there I fell down and then got up, but still things remained the same after the comeback. It (the Southampton Test) was the first match that I was playing. It was my biggest dream for which I had put in a lot of hardwork for years. Everyone said that I was bowling well. But the result was totally unexpected. It was a very tough thing to handle but by that time I had matured enough to understand that there will be times in sports where things just won’t go your way. There will be matches where you would be bowling at your best but decisions would go against you, catches would get dropped and the result would simply not be in your favour. This happens once in 15-20 matches. Unfortunately it happened to me in my first every match for India.

A catch was dropped early, that of Alastair Cook off your 13th ball, and then Ian Bell was adjudged not out, there were edges flying. Everyone knew your first day in Test cricket was unlucky, but when you went back inside the dressing room that day, what was the feeling?

Pankaj: A lot of things had happened that day. There were a lot of chances. If I watch the videos, I could say that even the Ranji players don’t get beaten as often as the England batsmen did that day. A lot edges whizzed inches past the fielders but didn’t go to their hands. I was frustrated, but with time I had matured to know that things like these happen in cricket. The one thing that I had learnt was to be always ready to fight because if you gave up, then it would be game over. Haarna aur uske baare me sochne ka to sawaal hi nahi uthta tha, nahi hoga ye soch ke baith nahi sakte in sports. (There was no question of brooding about a loss, you can’t be pessimistic in sports) Hence the thought that I would fail didn’t cross my mind ever. I believed I could pick a wicket with every ball I bowled. It is another thing that it didn’t quite happen. I was beating the bat or inducing the edges a number of times. Unfortunately, what I wanted to achieve wasn’t happening, but somewhere in my mind I knew I could succeed.

Did Mahendra Singh Dhoni (the Indian captain at that time) speak to you after the day’s play?

Pankaj: Obviously he did, not only after the day’s play, but after the match too. He told me that I had bowled very well. He praised my performance in the post-match presentation as well.

What was he telling you on the field?

Pankaj: Dhoni was telling me, “Itna aasan nahi, yeh cricket hai.” (It’s not so easy in cricket) He told me to try and try, and that I was bowling well and that it was the only thing that I could do.

Were you aware that you were the most expensive bowler without a wicket on your debut?

Pankaj: No, not at that time, but yes I got to know that after the match. But I think I was second on the list. I’m not sure.

Did you expect to be on the team sheet for the second match after that stat?

Pankaj: Yes, I was expecting it because I was appreciated by the fellow players, and Dhoni had praised me in the post-match conference. So it was clear that I would be playing the next match.

The coaching staff also told me that I had bowled well. Even I knew that I had bowled well. I was disheartened by the way the match went and the stats came out, but as a cricketer and as a sportsperson, I knew that the only thing I could do if given an opportunity, was to just go there and do my best.

How did you react to the the ‘Unlucky Pankaj’ tag?

Pankaj: I couldn’t have done anything about people coming up with the tag of ‘Unlucky Pankaj’ and continuing with it. By thinking about it more, I wasn’t going to change it. I take my life this way: try to do whatever you can, don’t think too much about what you cannot. This helps and motivates me a lot to keep performing in cricket.

You must have had a lot of sympathy during that time?

Pankaj: Everyone offers sympathies saying you are doing well, but you yourself know whether things are right or wrong. Sympathies are not sufficient especially when you have been dreaming about it (playing for the country) for years, then you finally get there, but you are not able to achieve what you want even after putting in your best. If I had bowled badly and didn’t get wickets, fair enough. But here I had bowled well, chances had been created and still I wasn’t successful. During such times you have to surrender to God and think, “Okay, fair enough, leave it, I will try and work harder going forward.”

After 26 spells, 69 overs, and 415 deliveries you finally managed a wicket, ironically a lucky one with Root strangled down the leg side. What was your feeling after that?

Pankaj: It made me laugh (smiles). Yehi hai kismat, yehi hai cricket aur yehi life hai. (This is what you call luck, this is cricket and this is life). When you had bowled so many good balls and put in so much of effort you hadn’t got a wicket. And how did you get the wicket in the end? Down the leg side off a delivery you don’t expect to get a wicket.

I scalped the second wicket off a slower one. I had planned to bowl a slower ball but in Test cricket you rarely get a wicket off a slower one. It’s through these things that you get to know that life and cricket are unpredictable. Sometimes you have to leave things to God – whatever He decides, you have to go with Him. You have to do what is in your hands.

Did the desperation to perform especially after making it to the national team after so long get to you? Were you trying too hard?

Pankaj: You can’t say there was desperation. If it was the case, people might have told me after the match that I was trying too hard. But I played to my strengths which was bowling in the good areas continuously, but things were not going my way. Sometimes they don’t go your way. There comes one match in 15-20 where you bowl at your best but go wicketless. It has happened to me two-three times in 100 matches, one of which was in the India match (the Southampton Test). Everyone knows it happens. But I didn’t expect it to happen at the place that it did (in England) and the fact that it happened there was difficult to accept.

After that tour of England, did you think you will play for India again?

Pankaj: Yes, you get an idea from the talks you have in the dressing room. Everyone acknowledged that I had bowled well. So there wasn’t a feeling that I won’t get back into the team again. And there was also no reason for not getting back. It wasn’t that I had suddenly entered the team, didn’t perform because I had taken seven-eight years to get into the team. Then I didn’t get picked again. That was not in my hands. After coming back also, I had bowled well in the Duleep Trophy and then took 40 wickets in seven matches. What is in my hands is to perform to the best of my abilities whenever I play. In hindsight, if Jadeja would have grabbed that catch…

Pankaj (interrupts): Mai wo soch ke dukhi nahi hona chahta kabhi bhi (I don’t want to be sad thinking too much about it)… because there is a lot of ifs and buts in life. In the 2007-08 Australia tour, I had a good chance of playing the Perth match (the third Test of the series), but Irfan Pathan made his comeback as the team was without an opener and he agreed to open the innings. Otherwise it might have been I who would have played that match. Ishant Sharma became Ishant Sharma because of that match as he took the wicket of Ricky Ponting after that 8-10 over spell.

If I look in hindsight, I remember that match the most. If things would have gone right for me there, you don’t know, things might have been different. But life is like that. If I go further behind, had I not met Munawar Ali I wouldn’t have played cricket at all. So there are many things to be sad about and many things to become happy about. I got picked for India in four years, not many people get that chance. Then for six years I didn’t get a chance… that is a part of life too. You have to accept it. Sometimes you get things early, sometimes late. The way I am working hard on my cricket it might turn out that there is something better in store for me. You never know!

Not about being sad but I was going to ask you, had Jadeja not dropped that catch, your career would have panned out differently?

After that (the dropped catch by Jadeja) too, I had a chance to get a wicket as the ball was flying off edges but went in the gaps. Jo cheezein nahi hui, usko leke sochna sirf apne aap ko pareshaan karna hota hai. (You would only trouble yourself thinking about something that had not happened) I don’t like running away. What you can do actually is make yourself better so that you can perform. Why get upset over things that are not in your control? Instead, do what is in your hands – work hard and that’s what I am doing. If you ask what’s the reason behind my consistency, may be one of the biggest reasons is that I still want to play for my country, I want to prove to myself that I am a better bowler than what the stats depict. Dreams are still there. If I would have been thinking about the past I wouldn’t have been able to put in so much of hard work and perform consistently.

Despite churning out wickets on a consistent basis, your name doesn’t still feature on the selectors’ radar. It must be terribly frustrating…

Pankaj: Obviously you would get frustrated. Moreover, I am not getting any younger and I can’t be sure till when my performance will continue. In sports, till the time you are performing, your name would still be there in the reckoning, if you have one bad year, you would not even be in the scene. So there is a tension as well as frustration ki abhi nahi ho paa raha to mushkil hai aage (that if it is not happening for you now, it would be difficult going ahead). But along with it is the fact that if you are playing cricket, you have to give it your best. The one thing that can take you to the national team is just your performance. If you have taken 40 wickets and you are still not selected, imagine what your chance would be if you take just 15 wickets. Fir 50 lene ki socho. (Then think about taking 50 wickets) That’s the thing with me, I try to achieve more.

How do you get this motivation?

Pankaj: My biggest source of motivation is that I haven’t fulfilled my dream yet. As the great APJ Abdul Kalam once said: “Sapne wo nahin jo aap sote waqt dekhte hain, sapne wo hote hain jo aapko sone nahin dete.” (Dreams are not something that you see while sleeping, dreams are something that don’t let you sleep) In order to achieve my dream, everyday when I get up, I feel I have to perform better in this match or this year I have to improve more or this season I have to achieve something that no one has managed, so that people talk about you, think about you and you can make a comeback into the Indian team.

How much have your family supported you over the years?

Pankaj: I have been very lucky in this case. Right from my childhood I had the full support of my family. My elder brother has played a vital role in my life, he even had to bear with my tantrums. He always used to accompany me during the matches, he always used to back me and provide motivation, saying you can do better in any sport, anywhere. Today too, we are in constant touch, we are very close. My wife’s support has been immense. You can dedicate very little time to the family and if your partner is not supportive then it’s going to be very difficult. Sometimes when you are not able to achieve things that you deserve, the motivation from the family becomes really important. We came from a very small town and were a middle class family. To get out of that place was very difficult, but my family always stood behind me. My mother wished that I did well in any field that I chose and stood behind me when I started playing cricket.

Have there been days where self-doubt had crept in?

Pankaj: It may start to creep in when I am not able to perform. Till now, it hasn’t happened that I have gone wicketless in two-three matches at a stretch. So wherever I am playing, be it the Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy or Irani Cup, if I start feeling that I am not being able to compete with my teammates or they are getting better, self doubt will start to creep in. It hasn’t happened for three-four matches that I have felt someone is better than me

So not even the slightest negativity has ever entered your mind?

Pankaj: No, whenever I play, my thinking is clear that I have to give my best for the team. Rajasthan have one of the best fast bowling units. There is Nathu Singh, Aniket Chaudhary, the new player Tanvir-Ul-Haq who had done really well, with 23 wickets in five matches (in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17). Then there is Deepak Chahar. When I play with these players, I tell them clearly that I will be ahead of you in the season. And it won’t be that the lead would be by just one or two wickets. I aim to be so ahead of the rest that the difference is palpable. It’s not that I am trying to make them look small or weak, but it’s just that if I want to prove myself or make myself better I have to be ahead of them in the competition no matter what. It’s the same thing when I am playing the Duleep Trophy, for instance. So when I am playing in it, my objective is to bowl the best in the tournament.

There has been a lot of talk about your pace. You had worked on it earlier, but are you still working on it to go one notch higher?

Pankaj: Obviously. If you have seen, I had bowled at good pace in a number of matches. In the Duleep Trophy, I had bowled at a very good pace. During the break in the season, I had worked on my fitness, pace, variations and other things. You would have seen bowlers’ pace dropping. Their pace might drop after injuries, but even after comeback from injury, I am trying hard to make myself better because that is the only one thing that can keep my career alive.

But, is your body supporting you?

Pankaj: If you want to play for your country, your body doesn’t matter, because either you will get (a chance to represent your nation) or you won’t. What will you do saving your body if you are not able to play for the nation? You might get injured or might face other problems or you might perform. If I try to save my body, reduce my pace, underperform, then there is no chance of playing at the highest level.

We’ve seen that you bowl long, continuous spells. But sometimes it becomes tough for a fast bowler as you are always up against the conditions domestically. How do you succeed in such unfavourable conditions? How do you keep yourself continuously motivated?

Pankaj: I accept it as a challenge, because when the conditions are in your favour, it’s easy to get a batsman out. But when they are against you, it’s the time to push yourself more, it’s the time to prove that you are better (than the others). If I am not able to perform here (in domestic matches), how would I perform when I am selected to play for the country? So I have to fight for myself. It gives me motivation and strength to do better.

What is the secret for a fast bowler to be successful in Indian conditions where the pitches generally favour the batsmen?

Pankaj: On Indian pitches it’s very important to maintain good line and length. In the past one to one-and-a-half years, the wickets had become pacer-friendly, but if you are bowling fast without any movement, you will concede runs. So the first thing is that you have to be accurate to survive in Indian conditions. The focus should be first on accuracy, then movement and finally, pace. When you have all this, you are a different bowler. In some countries, pace is given the first priority because there is more bounce and pace on their wickets, but here there is no pace in the wickets.

What’s your biggest strength?

Pankaj: Bowling in good areas, control over the movement and the fact that I have improved my pace in the past five-six years. In the longer format, I don’t remember any match in which I have felt that I can’t get the wicket of a particular player. That’s my strength: knowing the fact that I can bowl in good areas, I can move the ball and I can bowl at good pace. If these three things are going well, then it rarely happens that you are not able to perform.

We’ve seen fast bowlers retire at a younger age compared to others. How can a bowler attain longevity in this day and age?

Pankaj: There are two-three reasons for retiring. As I said, if I feel I am not being able to perform, I can’t play for the country. And when a player feels he can’t play for the country, he can’t play his best cricket. When that happens, people tend to quit. Whenever I feel that way, I will quit as well. If such a situation arises, I would not be trying to play one more year as there would be no meaning for doing so. Once you have played good cricket at the top you don’t want the people to say that it’s over (for you).

What’s the biggest compliment you have received so far?

Pankaj: Yuvraj Singh said during the Duleep Trophy that I was one of the best bowlers he had seen in the domestic circuit. (Cheteshwar) Pujara too said that I was one of the best he had seen. Nothing gets bigger than this.

What’s the best advice you have received so far?

Pankaj: To believe in myself. Dhoni once told me that there was nothing called luck. People have been tagging me, saying I have been unlucky and so on. He told me that you had to create your own luck. This is the best advice I have received.

If you get one more chance to play for India, and on that occasion too, luck deserts you, what would be your reaction?

Pankaj (Ponders, then smiles): I don’t think that something like this would happen again. From where I started, I am today Rajasthan’s highest wicket-taker with 400 wickets (in first class cricket), I have represented the country… very few get that chance. I had nothing in life to start with. The way things had panned out could be called a miracle – I picked a wicket off my first ball, met Munawar Ali who helped me with my cricket and then took me to Anand Sweets in Bangalore (where he had worked), where Mr Anand Dadu (proprietor of the shop) helped me happily, Brijesh Patelji showed so much interest in me that he kept me for a month and sent me to the MRF Pace Academy. There I met Parthsarthi Sharmaji who brought me to Rajasthan. So if I have been unlucky today, I have been lucky earlier. It’s all part and parcel of life. Sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don’t.

We saw stalwarts making a comeback like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel after eight years, does this give you hope and motivation?

Pankaj: Obviously, the way they have made a comeback, obviously they are good players, they have served the country well, I am not comparing myself with them that I am like them. But If you see even today, Nehraji is bowling really well and playing for our country. So definitely if you are doing well, you feel you might also get a chance and you can do well out in the middle.

What’s the road ahead for Pankaj Singh?

Pankaj: Right now, it’s just one thing - work harder, keep improving until my dream of playing for the Indian team again is fulfilled (Beams).

How would you like the cricket world to remember you after you stop playing?

Pankaj: We cannot decide that. It’s the people who will decide. I always try to make sure people remember me for good things.