The Chemplast Sanmar cricket team’s policy of grooming talented and dedicated youngsters has been paying steady dividends over the past few years. A happy byproduct has been the recognition some of our young players have received from state and national selectors.
A recent affirmation of Chemplast cricket talent has been the selection of four of our players as members of the India ‘A’ team now touring South Africa, capped by the appointment of left hander Dinesh Mongia as captain of the India ‘A’ team now touring South Africa. The other three are 20-year-old, 6’2” tall fast medium bowler L Balaji, and right hand batsmen Jacob Martin and Y Venugopala Rao.
An attractive left hander, Dinesh Mongia has 264 runs in the 10 one-day internationals (ODIs) he has played for India so far, with the respectable average of 29.33 runs and a highest score of 71 versus England.
He made his Ranji Trophy debut in 1995-96, and soon acquired a reputation for tall scores. By 1998, he was a member of the North Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy. He scored 758 runs in ten Ranji Trophy matches next season.
Mongia’s stature as a free stroking batsman grew rapidly during the 2000-2001 season. He made an impressive 308 against Jammu & Kashmir after his team had been reduced to 30 for 3. In the Duleep Trophy that followed, he made 201 against a strong South Zone attack which included five bowlers who had played for the country. A couple of matches later, he made a thrilling 208 against Central Zone. Before long, Mongia was selected to tour South Africa where he made his ODI debut.
Jacob Martin has not quite achieved the same level of success, though he has played some good innings for India. In domestic cricket, however, he has been an outstanding performer, one of only six batsmen to score more than a
thousand runs in a single Ranji Trophy season. Last season, he spearheaded Baroda’s spectacular campaign in the Ranji Trophy, playing a stellar role in the final, scoring vital runs to turn the match around in favour of his team and leading it to a title victory. This year, too, he has been in great form, highlighted by a massive 271 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.
Balaji’s ascent has been nothing short of meteoric. Spotted by Chemplast cricket manager Bharat Reddy, Balaji, who used to turn out for AG’s Office Recreation Club in the third division of the TNCA league until last season, toured England last summer with a group of youngsters led by Reddy. Followed an invitation to become a member of the Jolly Rovers team in the league, and Balaji has never looked back since. He took 22 wickets in the senior division league last season, but more important, managed to impress onlookers with his speed, accuracy, movement and subtle change of pace. The state selectors were among those who saw merit in the lad, and they picked him to represent Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy last season; but it was only this season that Balaji made it to the playing eleven, making a strong debut against Kerala, taking seven wickets in the match. Balaji has also performed quite brilliantly at the Under-19 level, where he captured 5 wickets for South Zone against England U-19.
Within the short span of one season, Balaji has made rapid strides, taking 32 wickets for Tamil Nadu in the national tournament, and getting selected for the BCCI President’s XI against the touring England team, though he did not figure in the final eleven.
Balaji idolises Australian paceman Glenn McGrath, whose accuracy and never-say-die spirit he tries to emulate. He pays considerable attention to his physical fitness, and is considered a good fielder. As a tailend batsman, he has shown admirable resolve, if not sparkling talent.
Y Venugopala Rao, a free stroking batsman from Andhra, is the other Chemplast lad to be picked for the tour. One of the most promising young batsmen in the country with a string of all-round performances for India Under-19, and a member of the World Cup winning team, Venugopala Rao is a very useful off spinner in limited overs cricket. With two of their senior colleagues to guide them, Balaji and Rao can be expected to improve vastly on the tour.
Following a brilliant 159 not out in 147 deliveries that brought India a 3-2 victory in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, Dinesh Mongia was expectedly chosen as a member of the Indian team to tour West Indies starting on 5th April. This has been a happy culmination of the Punjab batsman's recent string of outstanding performances in domestic and international cricket. His place as India 'A' captain is now filled by Jacob Martin, his Jolly Rovers team mate.