I am going with no expectations: Mukund

Mukund would be donning the national jersey after half-adecade and is no newbie in the longest format of the game. With 120 first-class matches under his belt, Mukund knows a thing or two about how to face bouncers the tricky ‘cementing your place in the Indian team’ situations can throw up. And the 27-yearold, with loads of positive attitude, is keen on taking challenges in his stride. 

The TN player played five Tests in a short stint in 2011 against West Indies in a three-match series where the biggies — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were rested. His 147-run effort in six innings, with a highest of 62 but with scores of 49, 12, 0 and 13 against England at Lord’s and Trent Bridge didn’t do any good to his career and he was on his way out of the Indian team. 

Obsessed with not getting a national call-up, Mukund started thinking too much and the phase ended up having a negative effect on his career so much that he didn’t find a place in the state team too. A break from the game — where he indulged in surfing on the beaches of Kovalam and even a mixed martial arts stint — did a world of good to him and the Chennai player was back with a bang. 

But what would have happened to cricket had Mukund called it quits then? “I just had to take the break. I don’t know what I would be doing. Cricket was always a part of my life and I had no alternative. I would have always been associated with cricket, into a different role if not a player,” Mukund said. 

The 2016-17 domestic season has been good to Mukund. He scored 1124 runs at 62.44, that included a masterly 169 in the Duleep Trophy — with the pink ball — and four  centuries in the Ranji Trophy in process of guiding Tamil Nadu to the last four stage. “The Duleep Trophy century made all the difference. It was the conditions, the new pink ball, the match situation that went in my favour. I was sure of getting noticed by the national selectors, although I didn’t put much thought into it (getting selected),” the 27-year-old said. 

The Indian team dressing room isn’t entirely alien for Mukund. The Tamil Nadu player was a part of the Virat Kohli’s U-19 World Cup winning team in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and he has state-mates Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin for company. “I would be a wonderful feeling to get into the dressing room again, after so many years. I am going with a blank mind with no expectations. I just want to focus on the task on hand and go about discharging my duties to perfection,” Mukund added. 

According to Mukund, nothing changes for him. “I will have to keep batting well and it is the same. I need to score big and be consistent, which is my primary duty,” he added. 

But does the thought scoring big add to the pressure, more so after an unsuccessful first stint? “It is a part and parcel of any cricketer’s game. The competition is high and we, as players, have to deal with it. I just want to enjoy my game and I am glad to get an opportunity to represent the country for now,” Mukund said.