Mumbai bowler Tushar Deshpande has played two T20Is for India, but an untimely injury restricted his time in the national setup. Yet, he is one of those players, who remains on the fringes of the Indian team. The man can bowl long spells, and is decent with the bat, for a player coming in at No. 10 or 11, and has a 100 in FC cricket too.
Tushar Deshpande Ready for Domestic Season
With a heavy season coming up, no wonder Tushar Deshpande is hopeful for a comeback soon. In an interview with The Hindu, he exuded confidence for another India cap. “Coming ahead are a lot of international tours. So, I’m aiming for that, and I’m feeling good now for the start of the season. Duleep Trophy is important. It’s the start of the season. So, going into the Duleep Trophy with an open mind will help me.”
What was interesting to note is, while he is on the fringes of the T20I side, the 30-year-old aspires to be part of the Test side as well, at some point. And for that, he wants to keep ready by staying fit. “Aspiration is always there to play Test cricket for India. But I’m taking it one match at a time, and just following a good process and keeping myself fit.
Aim is to Play Test Cricket
“Because, I’ve lost considerable time off the game last year. So, just keeping myself fit, so that I can again put in the hard yards for Mumbai, and for anytime the selectors feel I’m ready to play for India,” he said.
Working with Troy Cooley at the NCA has only worked in his favour. “His input has been good, revolving around the workload for the multi-day format. In a four-day match, a fast bowler needs to bowl around 30-35 overs (in each innings) with good intensity. So, we worked on it for a week. Like, how I go about bowling 35 overs in the two innings of a four-day match. Most of the preparation revolved around that.”
