From the star whom he watched on television to being a teammate, Mukesh Kumar’s ‘Virat Kohli moment’ on the field has left the debutant pacer awestruck. Kohli’s hug after he got his maiden wicket was surreal for Mukesh.
Making his Test debut a few months before his 30th birthday, the man from Bihar’s Gopalganj is a late bloomer and has had to come up the ranks proving his mettle right from Bengal U-23 to India A in the last seven years.
“When I got the wicket, Viratbhaiya ran up and hugged me. I was in a different world. The man I have watched all these years on TV and looked up to is hugging you. It felt great,” a beaming Mukesh told his senior pace bowling partner (younger in age though), Mohammed Siraj, in an interaction for BCCI.TV.
Mukesh had an impressive debut on a flat, lifeless deck with figures of 18-6-48-2 to show for his efforts. “...Rohitbhai said ‘it’s not a pitch where you can get wickets instantly. You need to work hard’. I had to set up the batter with consistent bowling,” said Mukesh.
Although he was mentally ready, having gone through the paces in the nets, the moment he was told at the team meeting that he would make his debut, it took some time to sink in.
“When I came to know that I will be playing, I was shocked and actually completely zoned out. Whether I play or not, I am always prepared, so I went to attend the team meeting, keeping in mind that I need to follow my process. But there was some gut feeling that I might play.
“When it’s morning over here (in the Caribbean), it’s evening in India. So by evening, when I reached hotel, I spoke to my mom... that’s a special feeling, that ‘Maa main desh ke liye khel raha hoon (Mom, I am playing for the country). All my relatives and all those who supported me from the start are happy,” he told Siraj.
With inputs from PTI
