CHENNAI: The handshake gate might have taken the centrestage at the ongoing Asia Cup with all eyes now set on the upcoming India-Pakistan Super Fours clash in Dubai on Sunday. However, before the much-anticipated match, Suryakumar Yadav and Co will lock horns against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday. For Oman, it will be their first game against the senior India team and there's a mix of excitement and nervousness among the players.
The Oman dressing room is a mix of players from South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan, and indifferent of 'no handshake row', cricketers from both nations are ready to challenge India together. Vinayak Shukla, the wicketkeeper-batter from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is one of them. "It is the beauty of Oman that you get people from different countries and you get to know different cultures. I have never felt that he is from Pakistan or that he is from India," Shukla told this daily.
The 31-year-old right-hand batter, who started playing at the very young age in the gullies of Kanpur, held every Oman teammate as his brother and said each one of them have just one goal — help the team win. "All thanks to the management, we have a very good atmosphere in the dressing room. We are focussed on cricket. All my teammates are my brothers and we are here to help Oman win. In all these years, I have never thought that I am out of my country and playing with people from other countries. For them, I feel the same way as I feel for my brother back at home," he added.
It all started in Kanpur and in his growing years, Shukla got enough opportunities to play with talented UP players, who went on to represent India. A few among them are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Rinku Singh. He will be up against the in-form wrist spinner when the two sides face each other.
And Shukla is happy for Kuldeep but said his experience of playing against the spinner would come in handy when the two take on each other. "The past experience will help me a lot, I guess, because when you have been playing together since childhood, you have the idea of some of the basics another player still follows. When you watch his bowling closely, when you play against him, I guess I will have confidence that yes, I have played him in my earlier days so I can play him. As of now, he is bowling really well but I think that experience will help me a lot against India."
Shukla moved to Oman in 2021 with the Covid pandemic still troubling the countries across the globe. He joined National Metal Cans which is owned by Gujarati businessman Chaitanya Khimji. Being a vegetarian didn't help his cause as well. The parents were worried but once he reached the country, things started to fall in place. "I would give credit to the company. They provide great food. The owner Mr Chaitanya Khimji is Gujarati so at the company the vegetarians are being provided food of their choice. I play for their team Oman Stallions. When you tell your family that you have Indian people around and you are getting vegetarian food, they will slowly adjust to the things and feel that the child is in the right place. So it was very helpful. I think I am blessed that I got such owners, I got such friends around me who were ready to support me in everything especially when I was new, I needed all these things. The comfort which you need after going to a new place, I got it and it was important because if you want to perform in cricket you need to be mentally stable and calm at a particular time," he said.
Speaking on his first match against India, Shukla admitted there will be nerves but added that things will settle down once the contest begins. "When you start playing cricket it is your dream to play for India but then you get the reality check and you have to go through a lot of things. I will be nervous because it's the match against my home country. But I feel when you cross that boundary line to play a match, it is just a matter of a couple of balls and then you start feeling like it is just another game. If you think a lot about it, then you won't be able to perform there. You have to be very calm and composed at that particular moment."
He might not have hit a big score so far in the tournament but Shukla feels confident. "I personally feel my form is good and I will definitely charge against Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep bhai," Shukla signed off.