Shahbaz Ahmed faced an atmosphere far from ideal during the early stages of his club cricket career in the city.

Having impressed for Tapan Memorial in few matches, Shahbaz, who is from Haryana, faced allegations of not having proper residential proof. That was during the 2016-17 season — his second in Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)-organised club cricket.

The issue had been raised by certain clubs under the aegis of the CAB.

However, Shahbaz had his voter ID card verified by the police then and faced no hassles thereafter. More than three years since that incident, the numbers do reflect how an improved cricketer he is as without his contributions, Bengal may not have qualified for the knockout stage of the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

Shahbaz, though, doesn’t want to look back at the past. All that matters to him now is maintaining his consistency and helping Bengal go the distance in this Ranji Trophy.

“I just want to look forward and keep performing for Bengal. That’s all…

“I am only reaping the benefits of the hard work I had put in since last July. That’s bearing fruit now,” Shahbaz told The Telegraph from New Delhi on Saturday.

“Our coach Arun Lal, VVS Laxman (batting consultant of CAB’s Vision Project) and other members of the support staff worked really hard on my batting technique. VVS Sir didn’t give me any specific advice as such. It was just about fine-tuning my technique and I was just focused on following what all he said.

“And when it comes to bowling, I used to learn first at Utpal Chatterjee’s academy.

“So, the hard work that I have been putting in since my formative years has worked. I can see the results,” he added.

Chatterjee, Bengal’s spin consultant, also appreciated Shahbaz’s cricketing sense. “He has the will to fight… Doesn’t give up…

“What struck me the most is his cricketing sense. He has an idea of bowling according to the conditions,” the former left-arm spinner pointed out.

For Shahbaz, the match versus Rajasthan in Jaipur was tougher even though he played a match-winning role with the ball versus Punjab.

“The situation in the Rajasthan match was more difficult. The target was really stiff… A 300-plus total is always tough to chase down… They were a lot of runs to get.

“In Patiala too, it was tough, no doubt about that… But I did get a good support from Akash Deep and the rest…” he said.

Talking about Bengal’s quarter final game versus Odisha in Cuttack from February 20, Shahbaz said: “Thoughts are simple… Have to play in such a way that we win the game…

“I just need to follow whatever the team management asks me to do and go by the plans that have been formulated.”