Tamil Nadu all-rounder Shahrukh makes his willow do the talking

Only a handful of mortals get to join the pantheon of A-list celebs soon after their coming into existence. It may have very well been preordained considering that the person in focus has little say in attaining that status. TN cricketer M Shahrukh Khan’s name will forever evoke strong memories of his renowned namesake in Hindi film industry, but the 22-year-old doesn’t want to make a killing by living off his name.

Instead, he has chosen an entirely different career and set out obdurately on his painstaking journey of endurance. Despite the odd setback and the delay in getting picked for the Tamil Nadu Ranji team, Shahrukh doesn’t cringe away from any of his well-thoughtout goals. 

He is a firm believer in making his willow silence his detractors, and uses the leather sphere to showcase his growing credentials as an allrounder of considerable merit. It has almost become a force of habit for him to put his hand up and make his presence felt whenever his team finds the going tough. He did that for the umpteenth time during the Colonel CK Nayudu U-23 trophy against Gujarat in Surat last Friday. 

Tamil Nadu found its knight in all his glistening armour when Shahrukh scored an aggressive 183 not out to extricate his team from a worrying position. “I wanted to go on the offensive from the first ball. The pitch initially encouraged bounce and lateral movement and the fast bowlers got some purchase out of it. I wanted to stick to my natural game which is to deal in boundaries. There was no point in staying at the crease and not scoring. I was looking for scoring opportunities off every ball, but after crossing hundred, I slowed down because of wickets falling at the other end,” said Shahrukh, who notched up his second century in three matches this season. 

An endearing trait of Shahrukh’s is his refreshing candour which is at once striking. Queried on his experience in the TNPL second edition, he played for the ill-fated Madurai Supergiant which lost all its matches, the promising allrounder says he was well below his best and that he could have been a lot more consistent. “I didn’t play well enough. But my failure this season doesn’t mean I’m not cut out for the shorter versions of the game. Things didn’t fall in place for our team. We hope to change this losing trend next season,” added Shahrukh.

Asked about his non-inclusion in the Ranji probables and how much it hurt him, Shahrukh puts on a philosophical cap and says he can only do what is required of him. “I have been scoring lots of runs and I have performed with the ball as well. I feel it’s an added advantage to be a utility cricketer and I’m keen to do well in bowling also. I feel the Ranji call-up will happen soon, but for now I’m enjoying playing with the U-23 team,” remarked Shahrukh. 

Armed with innate talent and blessed with abundant potential, this Shahrukh steadfastly marches on in his hope of becoming a cricketing celebrity.