JUST as the family completed rituals of ‘Shri Ganesh Sthapana’ at home, Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar got the information of his selection for Duleep Trophy — BCCI’s prestigious national cricketing event underway at twin venues in southern India. After an eventful last Ranji Trophy season, where the Vidarbha skipper ably led his side to the summit clash against domestic giants Mumbai, he led from the front scoring as many as seven fifties against top opponents and a hundred in the final at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. His gritty fourth innings hundred caught eyes of several past and present cricketers. Legendary Sunil Gavaskar, in his fortnightly column, lavished huge praises on the batter for a well-crafted ton that showcased his skill-sets and temperament.

 

The little master also mentioned about the triple role played by Wadkar — batter, stumper and leader. Somehow, Wadkar was not selected in any of the four teams for first round matches of the Duleep Trophy but finally the Big Match player, who scored his maiden First-Class ton in the Ranji Trophy final against Delhi at Indore where Vidarbha lifted their first-ever title. It was his debut Ranji season too. Since then, he has been a vital cog in Vidarbha’s scheme of things and was named skipper after Faiz Fazal announced his retirement. When Wadkar was ignored for the first round matches, Suhas Phadkar, former Vidarbha skipper and Chairman of Selectors Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) had expressed shock. He went on to say that that if he (Phadkar) was the national selector, he would have named Wadkar skipper of one of the four sides. “Just as we completed the rituals of ‘Shri Ganesh Sthapana’ at home, I got the information of my selection for the second round of Duleep Trophy matches. As on now, I have not been informed about the team I will represent. I will fly to Bengaluru on September 9 and from there on will take the team bus to reach Anantapur (in Andhra Pradesh),” said the 30-year-old Wadu, to his friends and colleagues, while interacting with ‘The Hitavada’ on Ganesh Chaturthi day. “Now that I have been selected to play, I will try my best to grab the opportunity and make it count. The preparation has always been there and in fact, I have got more time to hone my skills in the last week as I missed the first round match,” Wadkar, who has played five Duleep Trophy games earlier, sounded confident. It is reliably learnt that he has been picked in the same India D team that already has two Vidarbha players — opener Atharva Taide and seamer Aditya Thakare, both of whom were part of the playing XI in the tournament opener that ended on Saturday.