While at one corner of the globe Mitchell Johnson is busy tormenting England's batting order, almost 5000 miles from Australia a 25-year-old bowler with high hopes and aspirations is creating a buzz in India's most famous domestic tournament - the Ranji Trophy. For Anureet Singh, the distance traveled between wanting to play cricket from the age of 8 and emerging the success story that he is, has been one personified with immense dedication, handwork and a never-say-die attitude.
With four five-wicket hauls from five matches this season, he is now the third-highest wicket-taker (29) behind Himachal Pradesh's Rishi Dhawan (47) and Jalaj Saxena of Madhya Pradesh (32). Anureet has been impeccable with the ball, especially in home games where the heavy Jamia outfield and a tinge of green on the pitch assisted seam bowling over four days. Railways' good show has helped them top Group B with 21 points.
Despite having proved himself as the go-to bowler for Railways, Anureet remains grounded and believes his idea of sticking to the basics has reaped good results. "Every time I bowl, my motive is to pitch the ball in that one area which causes difficulty to the batsmen. That's where my concentration lies and I just want to hit that one spot consistently. No further thoughts have crossed my mind till now and I'm satisfied taking one step at a time," he tells TOI Cricket.
With almost 90 per cent of his wickets being either bowled or lbw, Anureet has perfected the art of stump-to-stump bowling and making the batsmen play. "My coach and captain backed me and believed if I could make the batsman play, results will automatically show", he says.
Anureet's love affair with the game began at a tender age. He expressed his desire to play cricket in front of his family when he was in second standard. But since the family wasn't strong financially, he was asked to study, get a degree and find employment at a place where he would be given a decent pay check. "It was after my 10th Board exams that I told my father cricket is where I want to pursue my career in, and left my studies. So it took some time but eventually he realised I was adamant on my decision and backed it up," says Anureet.
Apart from his father, Anureet's brother played an instrumental role in providing his promising sibling with the early basics requirements. "Even though we weren't financially strong, my brother Jaswinder Singh supported me immensely," says Anureet, who took his 100th first-class wicket in the form of Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund in the second innings this week. "He used to work and stood by me whenever I needed help in terms of money. Looking at him, my father began to see the positive side once I started becoming a part of newspaper cuttings."
Anureet's first outing with the game he loves began at Subhania Cricket Club at the age of 15. After spending four years with the club, he attended a Delhi camp in 2008 from where he got the opportunity to be a part of the Railways side the same year. "I was fortunate enough to play for Railways the year after I got selected. Initially I didn't know much but the support I got here was immense," he says. "[Former India allrounder] Sanjay Bangar was generous enough to believe in my abilities. Then Abhay Sharma sir [Railway coach] bringing me to the squad and Murali Kartik sticking by my side did a lot to make me feel I was ready to take on the challenges."
On top of this, Anureet was signed up by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008 and ended up playing the 2009 edition. Despite remaining absent from the playing XI for the next four years, his wait might end in 2014 if he keeps putting up such stellar performances.
Apart from taking wickets regularly, Anureet has been brought in for longer spells from one end, particularly this season. With the kind of toll fast bowling takes on a player's body along with the possibility of injuries, the 25-year-old has sweated it out over his fitness. Being advised to put on weight early on in his career, his physique blew out of proportion which resulted in fatigue and inability to bowl longer. But he was committed to work hard on his bowling during the off season and get back in shape.
"During my stint with KKR, Wasim Akram sir made a point which I always take up as a motivation," says Anureet, who in 2012-13 took 21 wickets in six Ranji games to finish Railways' most successful bowler. "He said every time you experience a low, you need to get back and stick to your strengths. And since I do not consider any bowler bigger than Wasim sir, I just had to take his thoughts into consideration."
Though he has no shortage of praise for Akram, incidentally it is his former Pakistan bowling partner Waqar Younis who Anureet considers his idol and the greatest exponent of swing bowling.
The effort put in by Anureet is clearly evident. In nine innings this Ranji season he has bowled 240 overs and performed like a workhorse. He's gone down to his knees and kissed the pitch every time he's got a five-wicket haul. All this highlights the colossal effort and hard work he's put behind his bowling and Anureet hopes to continue with the good work for the remaining matches. With the next game lined up against Services, he says expectations would be high out of Railways and that he has no particular plans for any particular batsman.
"Services are a quality side. They were last year's semi-finalists. Rajat Palliwal and Yashpal Singh are their key batsmen and expectations would be high from both of them. I haven't planned anything for a particular batsman but as I said, I will stick to my basics and try to land the ball in the right areas," says Anny, as he is fondly called by his team-mates.
Without a doubt, he has been one of the polar reasons for Railways' success with his impressive bowling. However, the Delhi-born Anureet admits he's been working hard on his batting as well. "I have been advised by my coach to pay attention to my batting. Since then I've spent time in the nets with our main batsmen and tried a few tricks. If I observe them carefully I'm sure it'll come to my advantage which will in the long-run be beneficial for the team as well."
If Anureet's current form is an indicator, Railways' chances of putting their hands on the Ranji Trophy may not be a distant possibility.
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