Baba Aparajith focussed on leading India U-23 at ACC Emerging Teams Cup

Having come out of a bad patch which had seen him being dropped from the Tamil Nadu Ranji team, Baba Aparajith is now focussed at the task of leading India-23 in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup which begins on Monday in two venues in Bangladesh.

The right-handed batsman had a poor Ranji Trophy outing, scoring 153 run from 11 innings, and was dropped from the team, in the process enduring an uncertain period. The Syed Musthaq Ali T20 Zonal phase was not good either though he had a half-century to show. He sort of redeemed himself in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which Tamil Nadu won, scoring 282 runs including two 50-plus scores.

Happy to have been named skipper of the national Under-23 squad, Aparajith said he's eager to build on the gains from the Vijay Hazare Trophy and also lead by example at the ACC Emerging Teams Cup where India U-23 take on Sri Lanka U-23 at Chittagong on Monday.

"I was doing things exactly the same way as I was when things were falling into place. Somehow the runs weren't coming. But deep inside, I knew that it was only a matter of time before the runs would flow again and all I had to do was to keep following my routine," Aparajith said about the mid-season slump.

"Now I am focussed to this tournament (ACC Emerging Teams Cup). It is a good challenge apart from being an honour. I am not new to the role of captain (he led VB Thiruvallur Veerans in the inaugural TNPL last year) but have not done it for an Indian squad. Being captain can add to one's game," the 22-year-old told.