*Its my long pending dream to complete one tournament in a career story, and this time, I'm picking a short one. I hope I complete it!*
It was a forgetful Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy for Karnataka and our coach had ruled off that neither of us will make it into Indian ICC World T20 squad. I had decent figures with bat though. I had scored 115 runs in 4 matches, with a strike rate around 140.
Once the tournament finished, I head back home (Hyderabad), with no hope of any Indian call for the coming T20 season. All I was expecting was some IPL Franchisee call up, for a base price.
Anyways, there were some celebrations in my home, and my brother was in plans on coming down from abroad just to see me play for nation. I received official e-mail about my selection and I was expected to reach Bengaluru by February 6 at 08.00 hours, the venue for the brief training camp.
The training camp would be for two days, and we were scheduled to fly to Pune for the first T20i.
I drove down to Bengaluru on February 5, and it was a decent 8 hour drive for 550 Kilometers, with three pit stops for some delicious food.
I reached the destination, and checked into the hotel. Knowing I would be parking my vehicle, they offered complimentary parking until we finished our, which was a nice and helpful gesture by them. Otherwise, I had to drive in traffic for almost 2 hours to keep my vehicle.
February 6: Training Camp.
February 7: Training Camp.
February 8: Flying to Pune and conclusion of Training Camp.
February 9: India v Australia 1st T20i at Pune.
February 10: Flying to Hyderabad and day off.
February 11: Practice Camp.
February 12: India v Australia, 2nd T20i at Hyderabad.
February 13: Flying to Bengaluru.
February 14: Practice Camp and India v Australia, 3rd T20i at Bengaluru.
It was a forgetful Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy for Karnataka and our coach had ruled off that neither of us will make it into Indian ICC World T20 squad. I had decent figures with bat though. I had scored 115 runs in 4 matches, with a strike rate around 140.
Once the tournament finished, I head back home (Hyderabad), with no hope of any Indian call for the coming T20 season. All I was expecting was some IPL Franchisee call up, for a base price.
-X-
Cut few days, I was surprised to an Indian call up for series against Australia, which rested Indian big names for World Cup. I was surprised, but I was sure I was going to carry drinks because as a player, I knew the entire series was planned just to give some much needed T20 match practice for players who are taking part in ICC World T20.
Anyways, there were some celebrations in my home, and my brother was in plans on coming down from abroad just to see me play for nation. I received official e-mail about my selection and I was expected to reach Bengaluru by February 6 at 08.00 hours, the venue for the brief training camp.
The training camp would be for two days, and we were scheduled to fly to Pune for the first T20i.
-X-
Flying to Bengaluru was one of the nicest options and Air Costa had sponsored a ticket for me. I choose to drive, considering the last game of the tournament was at Bengaluru and I can easily park my car at my relative's garage.
I drove down to Bengaluru on February 5, and it was a decent 8 hour drive for 550 Kilometers, with three pit stops for some delicious food.
I reached the destination, and checked into the hotel. Knowing I would be parking my vehicle, they offered complimentary parking until we finished our, which was a nice and helpful gesture by them. Otherwise, I had to drive in traffic for almost 2 hours to keep my vehicle.
-X-
The Schedule for the coming week:
February 6: Training Camp.
February 7: Training Camp.
February 8: Flying to Pune and conclusion of Training Camp.
February 9: India v Australia 1st T20i at Pune.
February 10: Flying to Hyderabad and day off.
February 11: Practice Camp.
February 12: India v Australia, 2nd T20i at Hyderabad.
February 13: Flying to Bengaluru.
February 14: Practice Camp and India v Australia, 3rd T20i at Bengaluru.