No one bothers when I am dropped: Agarkar

Even though his recent performances with the ball have been acknowledged, Ajit Agarkar, by and large, has been accused of not exploiting his opportunities well enough. From another perspective, it can also be said that he has been India’s convenient fall guy

MUMBAI: Ajit Agarkar can’t be taken for granted. Not after playing for eight years.Since he made his debut for India in April 1998, 26 fast-medium pace bowlers have played for India.

Only six of them are good enough to play for India now, of which four have only a combined experience of 33 one-day games. Agarkar has missed 47 one-day internationals due to injury or after not being picked to play.  But a few comebacks later, Agarkar has managed to play 159 times for India in all.

He is the most experience medium-pacer among the current lot.That demands some respect.

Way back in the late ’90s, when Agarkar first established himself in the Indian squad, Rahul Dravid was not considered good enough for ODIs. From the team that Agarkar first played in, only Sachin Tendulkar and he continue to play, now under Dravid. That must earn him some more respect.

Yet he is called an under-achiever, many would say rightly so, pointing to the fact that he has played only 26 Test matches. The critics could also point to his ODI economy rate of 5.10, the worst for a bowler who has bagged over 150 wickets. Erratic, shiftless and other less flattering adjectives are associated with him.

Agarkar, though, couldn’t care less.  “I don’t care what people call me. There are too many likes and dislikes. You can’t shut everyone’s mouth,” he says. “Names and tags just stick.”

Agarkar had just finished an hour of training at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) early on Wednesday. Back from a short holiday in Goa with his wife and six-month-old son Raj, he is working up a sweat with the West Indies tour less than a fortnight away.

“Not everyone can be the best cricketer in the world,” he continues. “I have always given my 100 per cent whether it is for Tata Steel, CCI, Mumbai or India.”

But that cannot change mindsets. “Look at Anil Kumble who has 500 Test wickets,” Agarkar says. “Personally, I think he is India’s greatest match-winner. But he never got the credit he deserved,” he says.
Even legends get stereotyped. 

Agarkar was hailed as the next great all-rounder after Kapil Dev. A one-day batting average of 16.44 without a hundred must rankle. “I never said I am an all-rounder. I never came into the team as an all-rounder. My primary job is to take wickets,” he says in his defence. “It’s unfair to consider me an all-rounder, make me bat at No.9 and then crucify me for not scoring as many runs.”

Agarkar has hit the quickest 50 in ODIs by an Indian and has a Test hundred at Lord’s.  “I have made decent contributions with the bat. Maybe I have not scored as many runs as I would like,” he admits. “But I have never been given enough of an opportunity to bat at No.3. The first time I played at No.3, I hit 95 and then I scored six.”

“At least let me bat at No.7 if not No.6. I have batted at No. 8 and No.9 most of the time and got only three to four overs. But I have got 1000-plus runs from so low down the order,” he says. “I have got runs when I have had the luxury of a few overs.” He points to his 53 in 62 balls at No.8 in the VB Series final in 2004 against Australia at the MCG.

So has he got enough opportunities in Tests? “I scored an unbeaten 109 at Lord’s in 2002 and I did pretty well. But I was not picked for next home series against West Indies,” he says.

“It’s disappointing when you are chucked out of the Test squad. I played the three Tests against Sri Lanka and the Lahore game against Pakistan where Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag put on 410 for the first wicket. I got two wickets on a flat track in that game, but did not play in Karachi that was the best bowling wicket during the tour.”

Agarkar never makes news when he is not picked. “No one bothers when I am dropped,” he says. “Statistics can be used to one’s advantage or disadvantage. But I have no complaints.”

Agarkar has 58 wickets from 26 Tests at an unenviable average of 47.32. “Ideally, I do not like such a big gap between my one-day and Tests figures,” he admits.

With youngsters coming into the team, Agarkar at 28 knows he must find his rhythm more often than before. He bowled first change in Abu Dhabi as Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth took the new ball. “The roles have changed a little bit. But after 150-odd ODIs, I must be able to bowl effectively during anytime of the innings,” he says.

“I am definitely feeling good about my bowling. The ball is coming out well and I am able to get into a great rhythm straight away. It’s upto the youngsters to prove that they are good enough. I know if I don’t perform my place is up for grabs.”

Many have fallen by the way-side trying to steal the spot from India’s ‘Comeback kid’. That, by the way, is another tag Agarkar does not subscribe to.