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Agarkar trying hard to find his way back

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE Aug. 23. Ajit Agarkar can excel as well as exasperate. The wiry Mumbai seamer was the fastest to get 50 wickets (23 matches) in one-day Internationals but his strike-rate slowed considerably later. He now has 174 wickets from 115 ODIs. He struggled with a string of ducks in Australia but scored a Test century against England at Lord's last year.

The `all-rounder' label has been Agarkar's crown of thorns but this competitive cricketer is keen to set a right a few shortcomings.

"You have to bat consistently to be an all-rounder and it's only in the last 12 months that I have had some consistency. I am working on my batting," Agarkar told the media here during the course of the conditioning camp for probables, here on Saturday.

During the last few seasons Agarkar lost his way as a bowler while a clutch of seamers led by Zaheer Khan moved a level higher.

On coping with competition, Agarkar said, "Playing for the country itself is a big motivating factor. Yes, competition helps one improve. But I am more interested in what I am doing rather than worrying about competition.

"I don't know what Sri (Srinath) is doing. He is not here at the camp. The young seamers have done well on the India `A' tour of England. They did well in the previous tour (to West Indies) too. I am hoping to do the right things during the Challengers Trophy and Irani Trophy matches in order to be in contention for a Test spot in the series against New Zealand. As long as I can deliver the ball at the right spot, I am more than happy."

Rhythm often gives the cutting edge to Agarkar's bowling. "I am basically a rhythm-and-confidence bowler, and the more I bowl the better rhythm I achieve. Yes, I would like to get 50 wickets in every 23 matches (ODIs), but that is not the way it goes. In international cricket batsmen sort you out very fast and you have to do things a little differently."

Agarkar may well be termed as a lucky mascot for Mumbai cricket. "In fact we have not lost a match whenever I played for Mumbai. Just once we lost a match against Baroda in '96 and that too on the basis of the first innings lead. Last season was fantastic. To be part of the team that won the semifinals and final is something great."

The innings at Lord's remains the high point of his career and the unbeaten 109 he scored against Nasser Hussain's men is something that Agarkar cherishes forever. "Scoring a Test century is always special. The century I scored at Lord's was special in more ways than one. I needed it to prove to myself that I had it in me to score runs at the highest level."

The conditioning camp has obviously left Agarkar in high spirits. "I think this is the first time that we have had a camp exclusively for fitness training. This is the perfect start to a new season. The Kiwis play tough as a unit and we cannot underestimate them."

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