Duleep Trophy final: Frequent-flyer Ishwar Pandey waiting to earn wings

Over the past year, those in Rewa have eagerly waited to watch on television Pandey make his international debut. The 25-year-old has been on an extended internship with the Indian team after first being picked for the tour of New Zealand (Tests and ODIs) and subsequently for the five-Test series in England.

So far, Pandey has had to bide his time as his appearances have been restricted to tour games — one in New Zealand and two in England.

“I try not to think about when I will play for India. Frankly, if you asked me a couple of years ago if I thought I could play at the highest level, I would have not taken the question seriously. If you get obsessed with playing for India then you will unnecessarily put pressure on yourself. There are so many capable bowlers in the Indian team and the competition is stiff. I believe that I can play for the country but I am in no hurry,” Pandey said.

Pandey considers himself lucky to have an Indian Premier League contract with the Chennai Super Kings, where he gets to play under MS Dhoni. “The IPL is so big and it helps being part of the tournament because people won’t just forget about you after the domestic season and you remain relevant. But there is a big difference between bowling with the white ball and the red ball,” Pandey added.

Keeping it simple

From Wednesday, the Central Zone medium-pacer will feature in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, the first big match of the season.

“I have worked on my strengths over the past 12 months and what is a better place than in the nets of the Indian Test team where you have the best coaches by your side and where you can bowl alongside the countries best bowlers and bowl to the best batsmen. I have not yet played for India, but the confidence you get from just being part of the Indian team, traveling with the Test capped players and talking to them gives you a boost.”

A conversation that Pandey recalls is the one he had with Zaheer Khan during the tour of New Zealand. The advice from the senior bowler, Pandey says has stayed with him. “Zaheer told me not to over-complicate my bowling. I am a natural outswing bowler and that has been my strength and Zaheer told me to work on my strength rather than try and do too many things. He told me not to try and change too much because what works for one bowler may not work for the other.”

Pankaj Singh, who made his India Test debut during the tour of England — after 10 years of first-class cricket and bucket loads of wickets — is someone Pandey turned to for tips. “He is one of the giants of domestic cricket and has toiled hard on wickets, which don’t favour fast bowlers in India so it makes sense to talk to him. Pankaj told me that whatever I do, I must not compromise with regard to fitness. ‘We have to work harder because the Indian physique is not as strong as some of the others. If you are fit then half your battle is won.’”

Pandey terms himself as a medium-pacer rather than one who can hit 145 kmph-plus. “My strength is my outswing and control. If you can pitch the ball where you want to and make it swing at 135 kmph you trouble batsmen. Batsmen know that I will bowl the outswing but when you pitch it at a good length it makes it difficult for them. I can also bowl the yorker and the bouncer. But if you have pace but have no control it makes no sense.”