The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Competition is good, says Ajit Agarkar

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Friday, Jul 01, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Competition is good, says Ajit Agarkar

Sports Reporter

BANGALORE: : Ajit Agarkar's career has been a bit of a mixed bag. He promised much when he became the fastest to bag 50 wickets in one-dayers but he lost the way somewhere. A string of ducks in Tests later in Australia compounded his misery. A classy unbeaten 109 at Lord's in 2002 and his six for 41 to ambush the Aussies in the Adelaide Test in 2004 were some of the high points.

His journey continues, though the `next big all-rounder' tag has proved to be a heavy burden. To put the record straight, Agarkar stressed that he is primarily a bowler. Talking to the media during the course of the pace bowlers conditioning camp here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, he said, "my primary job is to bowl and take wickets and if I can contribute with the bat then it is good. To be an all-rounder you have to be consistent and try and win games either with the bat or the ball, that's what makes you an all-rounder."

He also welcomed the competition for a place in the senior squad. "Competition is very good and we often have five bowlers competing for a berth. During the Bangladesh tour we had Gagandeep Singh and S.S. Paul also in the fray. Competition is healthy, I mean a lot of guys can push each other for a place and it is also good to take up the challenge and perform better. It can only help the team. Being fit and being able to perform well this season are the obvious targets," he said.

On the issue of a bowling coach, Agarkar said, "We had Bruce Reid in Australia and it was obviously a big help to have an Australian helping us in Australia because he gave us the right ideas about the conditions and it really helped us. We haven't had a full-time bowling coach so I won't be able to say whether having a coach will make a difference but I think it is probably not a bad idea. But yes, out there in Australia having a bowling coach was a big help."

Sharing space on the dais with Agarkar were seamers Gagandeep Singh and Joginder Sharma. The duo, which was part of the Indian team that toured Bangladesh, exuded optimism and Joginder obviously relished beating Rahul Dravid's bat here in the net sessions. "I would like to replicate it in a match situation. It feels good to beat a great batsman like Dravid and it is a big confidence booster for me," Joginder said.

Meanwhile Gagandeep drew inspiration from his last season's performance. "I had a very good season and bagged 39 wickets in six matches. The camp here has been good and Gregory King and John Gloster are making us work very hard and we are working on our fitness and strength," he said.