An average of 48.98 and 107 wickets from 89 matches in the Ranji Trophy are numbers that reflect Rajat Bhatia’s decade-and-a-half long career and still counting. Being a medium pace all-rounder, batting in the middle-order is a tough job in India’s domestic circuit. And the 36-year-old has fulfilled the role with much success across formats.
The former Tamil Nadu and Delhi player, who is representing Rajasthan in the 2015-16 season spoke about his journey thus far in an interview with bcci.tv.
Excerpts from the interview:
As a budding cricketer, how did you develop an interest with both bat and ball?It was in my school, that I started playing as a bowler. Because my brother was a batsman he used to tell me what to do, where to bowl to him, how important was accuracy. I used to watch him to learn. It helped me to bat well. After that I went to the MRF Pace Foundation.
Nobody used to bat in the nets there because they were not comfortable against fast bowling. I liked to bat. It all started from there.
What are the challenges to maintaining consistency as an all-rounder?The main challenge is your fitness. I have gone through so many injuries and to be honest, when I was in my early 20s, the injuries made things very difficult for me. Slowly and steadily, I understood my own limitations and I worked on them. Then the best thing happened when I played club cricket regularly in England. And that was the time I worked on my fitness. And once I did that, I could come and adapt to the domestic circuit here.
Would you say that playing club cricket outside India helped in improving your game?Yes, that’s one of the reasons. I was 26 (in 2006) when I went to England. I realised, if you are an all-rounder and if you are a fast bowler or a cricketer who wants to contribute in all departments, then you have to look after yourself. You have to work hard on your fitness and you have to realise (and understand) that playing too much cricket is also not good for you. That helped me; playing just once a week and training in proper manner. Going to England and working on my fitness was one of the most important things that happened in my career.
So how does one go about picking and choosing what to do?It all comes with experience. When you are 20 years old, you are energetic. After returning from the field you have time to go to the movies or hang out with friends. Now I am 36, I realise what my limitations are. I can’t be doing those things now. If I have to play for longer time, I have to look after myself. I have to be careful about what I eat and have to manage weight. If you look after yourself, definitely you become the best coach of your own body.
Is not being able to manage different aspects of the game one of the reasons that we see few all-rounders around?Yes, I agree with that. If there is an all-rounder in this country, somebody has to keep an eye on that guy. You can’t expect a 30-year old to be an all-rounder in India. You have to look for a 20- year-old who can bat and bowl. A genuine all-rounder is one who can bowl medium pace or fast and then can bat up the order. A genuine all-rounder should be like Kapil Dev. I don’t think there was anyone like him. Robin Singh came closest. We need to nurture an all-rounder - his diet, fitness, how much cricket he is playing.
Can you elaborate on the role of an all-rounder in the three formats?
Twenty20 is very fast. Because of the IPL this format has become more important, but the real test is in the Ranji Trophy. How you shape yourself in Ranji Trophy, how you are going to bowl those 20 overs in a day and then again come and bat at No 4 or 5! So I would say that Ranji Trophy is the most challenging thing to go through. Four-day and five-day cricket is challenging, it is the real test so you have to shape yourself for Ranji Trophy and then automatically you will shape yourself in one-days and twenty20.
How was it to bat for Delhi in the middle order and nurture the tail?
You have to show faith in the batsman who is batting with you. That’s what I did when batting at No 5 and 6 for Delhi. When the team is not in a good position you have to make your partner realise that he can bat with you. Even if it’s a No 9, you have to tell him to play as a batsman and not as a tail-ender. That kind of trust gives confidence to the partner. Showing trust in the other batsman helps me a lot. It is important to keep rotating the strike.
How has batting evolved since your debut in 1999-2000, especially in the Ranji Trophy?
When I started my career, people would bat for long. They used to bat on good wickets. They used to bat on those wickets where they can score heavily (but) at the same time you would see some quality bowlers, especially quality spinners. The bowlers would flight the ball and beat you in the air. The drift that dictated the course of the ball was most challenging for a batsman. Now the batsmen look to have a good strike rate of 70 to 80. Earlier, it was about batting for longer periods. Now it has changed a lot.
What is the key to your bowling? What do you make of pace bowling in domestic cricket?
When I started, I used to think that bowling fast is what I have to do, but then after getting injuries I realised that I should understand my range. One must learn to preserve energy. Today they bowl longer spells, play day in and day out for their club, association and in all possible competitions. Fast bowling is a difficult thing. I always feel that when you are a fast bowler you have to make choices, what matches you should be playing, what kind of fitness you have. A domestic bowler who plays a full season will see his pace drop. They should manage their cricket better, take enough rest, and be at their best. My bowling was about containing the flow of runs. It is all about patience in Ranji Trophy, not only in batting, but also in bowling.
You have always spoken about understanding limitations and playing within them. How does that happen? Does it come with experience or needs to be done consciously?
I feel that you should realise what kind of player you are. I am not Virender Sehwag. If my style of play is not like Sehwag and still if I try to emulate him, I know I won’t succeed. At the same time, if my limitation is to bowl like Rajat Bhatia, and I can bowl around 115 or 110, why should I try to bowl at 120 or 130? I should realise my limitations and work on what I can do best.
Most of the injuries are picked because everyone wants to bowl fast. I have seen youngsters asking me how to increase their pace. It is wrong.
Pace comes through natural abilities. It is biomechanics. What I realised at the MRF Pace Foundation (from Dennis Lillee) is that you should know your limitations. Coaches do play an important role.
Can you tell us about your experience with Tamil Nadu, Delhi and now Rajasthan?
I played only nine matches for Tamil Nadu. It was the start of my career as a fast bowler. When I played for Delhi I opened the innings. Then I started batting in the middle-order and did well. I was used to handling pressure most of the times. I never expected to play this year. The Rajasthan offer came out of the blue and honestly I am enjoying every bit of it. As a senior, my job is to mentor the youngsters and give them confidence. That’s the role I had at Delhi too.
How do you reflect on your journey?
I never expected my journey to be like this. I just want to continue (playing cricket). I don’t know where the journey is going to take me next year. As long as I am enjoying my cricket, I should just keep doing that. I have no regrets at all. People say I have not earned an India cap, but as long as I am enjoying cricket I will keep going.
