No matter how talented one is, one now and then needs a bit of the rub of the green. Suryansh Shedge wouldn’t have thought in his wildest imagination that he would be part of the senior squad within days of winning the 50-overs tri-series in Sri Lanka with India A under Tilak Varma.
If not for Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury, Shedge wouldn’t have had this chance to represent India in the upcoming seven T20I games in Ireland and England. The last few months have been absolutely brilliant for the 23-year-old. In Punjab Kings colours, he finally showed some of the promise he has long carried. He got a fifty batting at No.6 and in one of the matches took on now India spinner Manav Suthar, and hit him for three sixes and two fours in an over.
In the recently concluded 50-overs tri-series in Sri Lanka, Shedge impressed. In the first three matches, his scores read: 26 not (vs Sri Lanka A), 40 (Afghanistan A) and 72 (Sri Lanka A). He was really impressive. He is not just a lower-order, powerful hitter. He has much more to his batting, pretty much like ace Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya. If the wicket is tricky and the team is struggling, he can drop anchor. There is no real urge in him to go for big shots. He believes in building partnerships. If the team needs a late flourish, he can also hit big shots at will. His 72 against Sri Lanka A was one such example where he bided his time. In 26 and 40, he came at a relatively better situation and didn’t take time to cut loose with good effect. He also had a couple of failures, including the final, it may be noted, though.
Time to unleash the pacer in him!
He had impressed enough, but still needed some luck to get ahead in life. If not for Reddy’s injury, he would have been many miles from the national team. If not for Pandya’s rehabilitation after the IPL, he would have been even further from the national team. What lovely piece of luck he has had of late!
Shedge, who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket, is largely a batting allrounder, but he is going to play his first few matches in conditions where pacers are going to be more than a handful. He should do very well in those conditions as far as bowling is concerned. In the tri-series, he had picked up two wickets in all. He should do much more than that in Ireland and England.
India have already started seeking a replacement for Pandya, who is not getting any younger and besides he is injury-prone. Shivam Dube and Reddy have been around long enough now, but they don’t inspire much confidence with their bowling. Shedge, who had admitted to having learnt a lot from MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer earlier during the IPL, is pretty much like them. If he can add a few yards to his pace and be good enough to bowl four overs match after match, he can have a long future ahead. The age is on his side, and so far, he has shown a tendency to learn and improve. The next couple of weeks are quite crucial for the allrounder.
