Perseverance pays for Abhishek Chourasia

NAGPUR: Success is all about cashing in on opportunities when they come your way. Abhishek Chourasia has done that over the years.However, despite the talent with both bat and ball, he couldn't break into the Vidarbha senior team in any format. That hasn't disheartened the allrounder. Whenever he was ignored, he has come back as an improved player.Chourasia, a right-handed batsman and an off-spinner, was in Jaipur when his childhood coach Prashant Bambal told him about his selection in Godbole one-day Trophy. He, along with his three friends, had to rush back to Nagpur. They didn't get confirmed reservation and had to travel in general class. After travelling for 20 hours, Chourasia reached the city in time but didn't get to play the first match against President's XI. The 26-year-old got the opportunity in the second match but walked in at 71-6 when his team was chasing 219 for the victory against Secretaray's XI.He smashed 74 off just 49 balls with the help of 11 fours and three sixes, and had a 140-run seventh wicket stand with skipper Shalabh Shrivastava to take his team home. The stand between the two came in only 15.1 overs. When he was belting the bowlers to all parts of Kalamna ground, coach Paras Mhambrey was watching him closely. His blitzkrieg paved the way for his selection in Vidarbha squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It's the first time Chourasia has been selected in the senior team."He has always been a good performer. When I told him about his selection, he was eager to play. He wanted to make that opportunity count. Now, a good performance in Vijay Hazare might change things for him," Prashant Bambal told TOI.Bambal has played a crucial role in Chourasia's career so far. He was one of the key performers during his Under-19 days. Whenever Vidarbha batting failed, he would always come to the rescue. He continued his good batting show at Under-22 level too. Thanks to his consistent good performance with the bat, Chourasia was promoted to No.6.The then Under-19 Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said he never considered Chourasia as a lower order batsman. "For me he was a genuine allrounder. He had that beautiful action which would help him get drift. Whenever he would got to bat, he batted like a recognized batman. He was a quality allrounder," Kulkarni said.His batting kept improving to such an extent that he became a batting allrounder. Bambal feels coaches considered him more of a batsman who could bowl. "Somehow he didn't bowl much at Under-22 and Under-23 level. Besides, he had a shoulder injury during that period. So while he could bat comfortably, he didn't bowl much. When he recuperated, his competition was with Akshay Wakhare. I told him to work harder," Bambal said.This year, Chourasia took two five-wicket hauls in three matches in warm-up matches. While he wasn't selected for Bapuna Cup Ranji Trophy trials, he represented VCA in JP Atray Memorial tournament.He also did well in Guzder League Twenty20 and again caught the selectors' eye, who gave him an opportunity in Godbole Trophy. Chourasia has grabbed it with both hands and played one of the best One-Day knocks in local circuit. Now, he will have to do the same when he dons Vidarbha colours in Hazare Trophy.