Manchester: Behind the proud smile the 24-year-old Anshul Kamboj sported on Wednesday while receiving his Test cap at Old Trafford, there was a short but intense battle to get fit in time.Last Nov, when Kamboj took all 10 wickets in an innings against Kerala, he proudly told TOI that he had never been injured. It’s impossible for a sportsperson to stay away from injuries, however, and in June this year Kamboj had to fly back from England — after playing two matches for India ‘A’ — to treat a shin injury.The Indian Test team needed one pacer from the ‘A’ team as cover for Akash Deep. Kamboj’s ability to bowl long and accurate spells made him an obvious choice. The injury to Kamboj, however, meant Harshit Rana was asked to stay back instead.Kamboj, who cricketing journey started in Karnal in Haryana, was hurting. He headed straight to Haryana’s director of coaching Ashwini Kumar’s academy in Sultanpur, near Gurugram, for training and rehab. The Haryana Cricket Association’s (HCA) academy programme has always had sports psychologists and rehab training centres ready and available for players across age groups.“Anshul was very upset that he got the injury. He came to the academy with the sole motive to get fit at the earliest. HCA has a training centre which is available 24 hours a day. He worked day and night to get fit. He didn’t want it to get to the stage where BCCI’s centre of excellence had to get involved,” Ashwini told TOI.
Kamboj also attended classes with sports psychologists. “The classes with the psychologists also prepared players for the times when they will be injured. It is about staying positive and not getting frustrated. Those classes also taught him to deal with success and failure. It’s important for a player to know how to handle success and a good run of form,” Ashwini said.It wasn’t the first time Kamboj had come close to getting his big break. The selectors were very close to picking him in the XV for the India ‘A’ tour of Australia which preceded the five Test series. However, the team management felt that Navdeep Saini, another fast bowler from Karnal, was the better option.
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“Anshul has always been a quiet boy. He used to travel from Karnal to Sultanpur every week before HCA arranged accommodation near the academy. His strength is that he is very determined and disciplined. He has never missed a practice session in the last seven-eight years. He always remained patient,” Ashwini said.
