India’s domestic season will kickstart with Duleep Trophy 2023 from June 28 with the first match between East Zone and Central Zone. Ahead of the much-awaited domestic championship, Cricketnext spoke to East Zone Vice Captain Shahbaz Nadeem who has been consistent in Ranji Trophy and now aspires to win a championship for his Zone.
Nadeem has represented Jharkhand in all his domestic matches, a total of 132 first-class matches and 127 List-A matches. Along with this, he played 144 T20s, and 72 appearances in the IPL, representing Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants.
However, if there’s someone who fits best to the parameter of consistency in domestic cricket, then it is Nadeem. He has been knocking at the selectors’ doors for the past many years but till now he has got only two chances to represent the national side in the longest format of the game. He played a Test match in October 2019 against South Africa at his home venue, Ranchi and then played in Chennai, in February 2021, against England. He got eight wickets from those two games and now, to bounce back in the team, an exceptional performance is needed of him.
Excerpts:
What are your preparations for the Duleep Trophy 2023, especially the season opener – East Zone vs Central Zone?
It is the first match of the season so everybody wants to do well in the first match of the season to get the momentum. Everybody is preparing well for the upcoming tournament and I feel this match will set the momentum for the season.
This year, Rinku Singh has been the talk of the town for his exceptional batting in IPL. He’s in Central Zone and you’ll be up against him in the first match. Though, Duleep trophy is an entirely different format from the IPL, but are there any special plans to get him out early in the match?
Not as such. Red ball cricket is a completely different game though I know he’s a very good player and others are also good who have been selected for Duleep Trophy in our team and the other teams as well. So, I haven’t planned anything specific and as it’s going to be the first game of the season so for me planning is only to put the ball in the right areas and be patient and not to try too many variations and leak runs. So, I wanna be patient and ball at the correct line and length and let the pitch and batsman make the mistake.
How’s the relationship with your East Zone teammates? Is there any difficulty in jelling with the players as they come from different states and teams?
I have been playing Ranji Trophy for so many years and I know them from so many years so I know them very well. We have played together so many times so we know each other very well and I feel, when you play in Duleep Trophy or in a zonal match then the key thing is to jell as a team and back each other. This is the only thing that is lacking mostly in Duleep Trophy because everyone comes from different states and they are used to playing with their state players so the most important thing in this trophy is to play as a team. So, I feel, whichever team will jell well, they will do good in this season.
You’ve been playing IPL for so long but how was the experience with Lucknow Super Giants, who made their debut in IPL 2022?
I have been playing in the IPL for the past 12 years so the experience in the IPL has been great. Lucknow was a new team but the support staff and management members had worked earlier with different teams so they were not new to me in that sense. It was quite pleasant to play with them.
Was it disappointing for you to not play in IPL 2023?
I have been in the IPL for the past 12 years but this time I didn’t get picked by any team, though I was performing well in the domestic circuit. So, it feels that you are performing well in your domestic circle and you are not even that old to be left out so it was a little disappointing for me. But, definitely, I’ll push myself this year and try to get into one of the teams.
As you missed the latest season of IPL so what’s your near future goal? Have you set any target in terms of playing well in the domestic circle and then making the cut to one of the IPL teams?
For me, playing IPL is one of the things but the most important is to give my best in whichever team I play, whether Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy or any other tournament. I just want to perform well and I should make my team go one step forward and win the championship and that’s just my whole and sole target. Personally, I have been performing for the past 5-10 years continuously but as a team, if we win a tournament then that’ll be something big – a next goal.
In January 2023, you achieved the landmark of 500 first-class wickets. It’s a record that not many players are able to achieve so how did you feel about it and apart from this, is there anything that you aspire for? Are you eyeing a place in the Indian cricket team?
I played in only two Tests and I was not a part of the team initially. I suddenly got a call and got the chance to play. So, I was never picked in the first fifteen to play Test cricket, I got my chance only when a player got injured or something happened to someone. So, my only target is to perform well and get into the team because last year I was the third-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji trophy and this year I was the fifth-highest wicket-taker but it seems people forget very easily nowadays. People recognize you only when you perform well and you are in the limelight. However, in terms of the Ranji trophy, you need to perform continuously well for 2-3 years and then only people or media will recognize you. It has always been like that in Ranji Trophy so it’s all about being consistent.
In order to come into the eyes of selectors or media, continuous performance is the only way. It is not like IPL because in IPL, players get recognised even if they do well in one season. However, in the Ranji trophy, you’ve to keep performing and grinding yourself to get the recognition.
Off late, a lot of young bowlers have made headlines with their performances in IPL and domestic cricket. Do you think you need to do something extra in order to be on the same page with them?
No, I don’t think I need to do anything extra. I feel, if one is not doing anything extra and performing well then there is no need for anything else. As long as results are favorable with the natural practice then one should stick with that and keep doing that. But, if the results aren’t coming then you need to think of trying something else. All in all, you don’t need to change yourself.
Is there any player/team that you are eager to face in the Duleep Trophy?
(Laughts) No, nothing specific. I just want to win a championship for the East Zone and it doesn’t matter who is batting, I just wanna bowl him out. Doesn’t matter, if it’s an opener or a number 11, for me each and every wicket is important. I just want wickets and want to take one step closer to winning the championship.
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