CHENNAI: The inclusion of Pradosh Ranjan Paul in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy squad comes as a whiff of fresh air. The state under-19 captain has made the cut on the back of some consistent showing. The ability to build long innings has been a feature of his progress so far. “Pradosh is a prolific batsman. He has excelled in all the age groups at the state and national level. He was outstanding in the Cooch Behar Trophy tournament this year. So we drafted him into the senior side,’’ said M Senthilnathan, head of the selection committee. A native of Bhubaneshwar settled in Tiruppur, Pradosh made his first-class debut last season, against Delhi at Chepauk. He made 78 in the first innings.
“I am delighted. I enjoyed it when we played against Delhi. I know how difficult it is to get back into the state side. I am also aware of the responsibilities that comes with it. I have improved my mental toughness. If given an opportunity, I will do well,’’ Pradosh told Express. In the Cooch Behar tournament this season, the middleorder batsman has scored three hundreds and a double hundred. “I have been following Pradosh from his U-14 days.
He is a prolific batsman with a penchant for scoring hundreds. In the last two seasons he must have made some 1500 runs. We have not yet decided the combination for the Mumbai match, but I believe he has a good chance,” said R Prasanna, assistant coach of Tamil Nadu. Himself a former left-handed batsman, Prasanna lauds Pradosh’s ability to play long innings.
“He has improved a lot. His confidence level is high, his shot selection has improved. Playing in age-group tournaments across the country has helped him adapt to different conditions and wickets,’’ opined Prasanna.
In his debut match, Pradosh had a bit of a problem against pacers. “He was a bit raw at that time when he played Navdeep Saini. He played his second spell better. Now he is more matured as player and can handle first-class cricket better,’’ added Prasanna. The youngster believes he can handle pressure better these days. “At the U-19 level, we play four-day games. So one learns to play session by session and also handle pressure. I have improved in pacing the innings and learnt how to convert fifties into big hundreds,’’ said Pradosh.
Indrajith in squad The state selection panel included B Indrajith in the squad for the games against Mumbai and Railways. He was out of action for some time, recovering from a shoulder injury.