Cheteshwar Pujara, Sarfaraz Khan, and Suryakumar Yadav – these were just three names Shivam Mavi added to his kitty as he went on to wreak havoc on West Zone with 6/43 in Duleep Trophy Semifinal. He has effectively ended hopes of three stars who were looking to find their way to the India Test team. Having spent the entire IPL 2023 season on Gujarat Titans bench, Mavi now hopes to develop into an all-format specialist.
”I have been performing well with the red ball in the last three or four years. Hopefully, I will get to play in Test matches. It is not like I want to play only in one format and I am working hard to be ready for all three formats,” Mavi.
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The national selectors have entrusted Mavi with Central Zone captaincy in the domestic season opener. It was a huge vote of confidence for the 24-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, underlining his position as a prominent candidate in the waiting list.
”I feel very happy about it. The selectors have given me such a big responsibility. It is (captaincy) difficult for fast bowlers in India because fast bowlers get tired here because of the conditions.
”But here (Bangalore) the conditions are fine and we don’t get tired that much. I have played in England and the weather is quite similar here. We get time to think as a captain,” said Mavi.
Mavi handled the captaincy part well without affecting his bowling. Out of six wickets, three were Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan, breaking the West middle-order.
In fact, Mavi has now taken nine wickets from his last three innings. Simplicity, Mavi says, is the mantra of his success.
”It does not matter to me who the batsman is. For me, it is all about bowling in the right areas and if I know if I can do that, I will get the wickets,” explained Mavi.
However, Mavi had to wait three months or so to return to the field after playing the Ahmedabad T20I for India against New Zealand in February earlier this year.
He did not get a game in IPL 2023 despite being in the rolls of Gujarat Titans. So, was it tough for him to be in touch with the game during this time away? Mavi did not read too much into it? ”Getting selected for a match depends on the coach and captain. But I was using that time to do net sessions. I was bowling long spells at nets. I was in a good space.
”I was bowling 7 to 8 overs at nets. I kept myself motivated thinking that I will get a chance sooner and I was focusing on improving my skills,” said Mavi.
However, Mavi admitted that finding his rhythm in a real match situation was a bit tough after that considerable break? ”Yes. I was playing after three months. It was a bit tough to find the rhythm on the first day. The four overs that I’d bowled in the first evening was a bit tough for me. But it became better when I came back to bowl on the second day,” said Mavi.
Now, a busy domestic season awaits Mavi and he is aware that workload management is quite important for him to traverse the distance.
”We have to upload our workload in the AMS monitoring system on match days. We wear that system and play.
”It helps us to know the extent of workload — how many kilometers we covered and how many strides we took in a day etc. It is good for us,” he said.
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