The Kulkarni household in Chunabhatti here did not burst into celebrations when their son Dhawal was named in the Indian squad for the ODI series against West Indies. Instead a relaxed Sunil is waiting for the day when his son wins India a match.
It was the news that the Kulkarnis have been waiting for some time because of the Mumbai seamer’s consistent good performance in domestic cricket. However, the call up had eluded him. The last time the 25-year-old was picked in the Indian Test team for the tour of New Zealand in 2009, he did not get any opportunity and was eventually dropped.
Since then he has been toiling hard and waiting patiently. So when the news of his inclusion came to him on Tuesday, he was relieved. “My patience has paid of finally,” Dhawal told dna.
“It is a great feeling to be included. I have been waiting for a long time. I have worked very hard for this. God has given me this opportunity and I don’t want to lose it. So, I would like to do well in my first attempt,” he added.
Dhawal said he wasn’t surprised with the news. “It wasn’t surprising. I have been waiting for this since I have been performing consistently and have worked hard,” he added.
The 25-year-old got off to a flying start in 2008 taking 42 wickets in domestic cricket that saw him make it to the Indian side for the New Zealand tour. However, he was dropped after that before coming back for this series.
“Yes, it was disappointing,” Dhawal said, adding, “I was not being picked despite doing well, but then I chose to wait and work hard rather than keep thinking why I was not being picked. Patience was very important. This is the opportunity I would like to grab with both hands and will enjoy performing under pressure,” he added.
Squad for the ODIs
Indian team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma.
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