| Shiv
Sunder Das is a young and energetic cricketer with good technique. He will
blossom into a fine piece if nurtured with proper guidance and coaching. He made his debut against Bangladesh in
their first Test match but recorded his first century (110) in his third
game, against Zimbabwe in Nagpur. His big break came in May 2000 when he
was selected to the National Cricket Academy and got the chance to
interact closely with his idol Sunil Gavaskar among others. In June-July,
Das visited the Australian Cricket Academy under the Gavaskar-Border
scholarship, which he believes was the best thing that happened to him.
The intensive six week course instilled a sense of professionalism in Das
whose technique was tightened up and his preferred backfoot play refined,
especially cutting and pulling. He also has ample opportunity now to
sharpen his leadership skills, taking over as East Zone captain this
season in addition to his duties as captain of Orissa. In the face of a
chronic scarcity of competent Test openers, Das could be just the man to
step into the breach. |
