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New Indian pacer Mukesh Kumar felt 'surreal' when he was hugged by the country's former captain when he got his maiden Test wicket in the second Test against the West Indies in the Port of Spain. The pacer who plays domestically for Bengal spoke about the moment in a conversation with Mohammed Siraj for BCCI.TV.
"When I got the wicket, Virat bhaiya ran up and hugged me. I was in a different world. The man I have watched all these years on TV and looked up to is hugging you. It felt great," a beaming Mukesh told his pace bowling partner.
Mukesh was in the squad for the World Test Championship as well but did not make the cut. He was drafted into the team for the second Test match, a few months before his 30th birthday, having come up the ranks and proving his mettle right from Bengal U23 to India A in the last seven years.
The man from Bihar's Gopalganj had an impressive debut on a flat lifeless deck with figures of 18-6-48-2 to show for his efforts.
"When you (Siraj) and JD (Unadkat) bhai were bowling, Rohit bhai said 'It's not a pitch where you can get wickets instantly. You need to work hard'. I had to set up the batter with consistent bowling," said Mukesh, who was picked by former Bengal seamer Ranadeb Bose, during an open trial back in the 2013-14 season under the ambitious 'Vision2020' project.
Although he was mentally ready, having gone through the paces in the nets, the moment he was told at the team meeting a day before, it took some time to sink in.
"When I came to know that I will be playing, I was shocked and actually completely zoned out. Whether I play or not, I am always prepared, so I went to attend the team meeting, keeping in mind that I need to follow my process. But there was some gut feel that I might play."
His mother was emotional and all those associated with this journey were very happy. "So when it's morning over here, it's evening in India. So by evening, when I reached the hotel, I spoke to my mom, that's a special feeling that 'Maa main desh ke liye khel raha hoon (Mom, I am playing for the country). All my relatives and all those who supported me from the start are happy," he told Siraj.
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