Little-known Mairaj Khan in Mumbai squad for semifinals

An early end to Mumbai's U-23 season – they did not qualify qualify for the knockouts of Col CK Nayudu Trophy – forced off-spinner Mairaj Khan to ponder over what went wrong. He managed only five wickets in four games.

As he kept searching for areas to work on, he kept taking wickets in bulk in corporate cricket and club tournaments. On Sunday night, Khan got a call from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), informing about his selection in the Ranji Trophy team for the all-important semifinal match against Karnataka in Bangalore starting on Wednesday.

Khan has been named as a replacement for off-spinner Akshay Girap, who suffered an injury in a bike accident on the day of the selection.

"Obviously it is a very big surprise. A shock since I wasn't expecting it. But a pleasant one," Khan told dna.

"After a poor U-23 season for Mumbai, I was sad. But then I started thinking about what went wrong and worked on it. I did decently for Mumbai Port Trust in the Times Shield, taking a good number of wickets and then on Sunday I got a call from MCA," he said.

Khan is well versed with Mumbai cricket history and knows its legacy. He promises to live up to the expectations. "Mumbai has a big history. Since I have played age-group cricket for Mumbai I know what pride we carry every time we step on to the field. We have 40 Ranji Trophy titles. It will be a proud moment to be there in the same dressing room," he said.

Khan's struggle has been similar to what an average Mumbai player goes through. He'd travel from Bhayander to Dadar in crowded trains to practice at Shivaji Park Gymkhama since the age of 10. "My dad was my inspiration since he played the game. I used to play cricket but not seriously till I got selected for the Shivaji Park Gymkhana Academy in Dadar under Praveen Amre sir and Padmakar Shivalkar sir. I became serious about the game after that," he said.

However, it was only a few years ago that Khan turned into an off-spinner from a batsman. "I started as a batsman till I began taking wickets. From then, I turned into a bowler who could bat," said Khan. He idolises Mumbai Ranji veteran Ramesh Powar and former England offie Graeme Swann.

The 22-year-old Khan's coaches say that he buys wicket by flighting the ball. "You could say how Ramesh Powar would flight the ball," said U-23 Mumbai coach Vinayak Mane. "He is not like today's bowlers who don't flight. He tries to turn the ball and buys wickets. But he has to develop himself more," added Mane.

Satish Samant, ex-Mumbai U-19 coach, under whom Mumbai won the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2012, said Khan is a hardworker. "But he needs to bring more variation to his bowling if he has to be successful at the first-class level. He has worked on his fitness too. From a stocky with lots of fats to being fit that he is today," said Samant.

"Yes, it's true that people would say I am on the heavier side. I made a conscious effort to lose 15-16kgs in a year by keeping a good diet and training with discipline," Khan said.

The offie doesn't want to waste this opportunity.

KNOW MAIRAJ

Mairaj Khan
Right arm off-spinner & batsman
Did High School from Sardar Vallabhai Patel
Graduated from Khalsa College
Currently doing M Com from Dalmia College
Was part of Mumbai U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy win 2012
Trained at Shivaji Park Gymkhana in Dadar

MAIRAJ IN COL CK NAYUDU TROPHY 2014-15
87, 1/39 & 1/40 vs Madhya Pradesh
20, 0/29 & 1/79 vs Karnataka
7, 0/7 vs Delhi
20*, 1/46 & 1/32 vs Rajasthan

MUMBAI SQUAD FOR SEMIFINALS: Aditya Tare (C), Akhil Herwadkar, Abhishek Nayar, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Sufiyan Shaikh, Shardul Thakur, Nikhil Patil, Wilkin Mota, Shrideep Mangela, Tushar Deshpande, Mairaj Khan, Harmeet Singh, Balwinder Singh Sandhu