Fazals cherish Faiz’s success

NAGPUR: On Wednesday around 12 noon (IST), Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat against India in the third ODI. But before that, by 11.30 am, it was confirmed that Faiz Fazal would be making his One-day International (ODI) debut. Faiz’s parents Yakub and Zainub Fazal were over the moon. So was his wife Tarana. Their long cherished dream of seeing Faiz donning the Indian colours had been realized when the BCCI tweeted the picture of

Vidarbha

opener receiving cap from Indian ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

In the 28th over, Vusi Sibanda hit a powerful on-drive. The ball struck on top of Faiz’s right hand’s little finger - which was already wrapped up with bandage - on its way to the boundary. The 30-year-old looked in pain and was surrounded by his teammates for a while. The memories of 2004 when Faiz had to miss the Under-19 World Cup due to fractured hand suddenly hit their minds. After a while, he decided to carry on. The Fazals were more relieved than happy.

They wanted to see Faiz contribute to team’s success as has been the norm over the years. The 30-year-old did exactly that and went on to score an attractive unbeaten 55 (61b, 7x4, 1x6) to contribute in India’s 10-wicket victory. “He desperately needed that ‘India’ tag. Faiz has always aimed high. He was keeping himself motivated even when he wasn’t getting enough chances. He just started playing without expectations. He wanted to take Vidarbha cricket forward and that was one of his primary goals when he came back from Railways,” Yakub told TOI on Wednesday evening.

There was a sense of satisfaction on Yakub’s face. He always knew his son’s talent but it was all about the opportunities, which were hardly coming Faiz’s way. Ever since he came back to the Vidarbha fold, Faiz started working hard on his fitness. “He has always been very fit but for the last two-three years, Faiz has been concentrating more on his fitness and what he eats. Earlier, he would eat what he wanted. However, it’s different these days. He knows more about his batting now. He has cut down on risky shots and is willing to respect good spells,” he said.

Faiz played three glorious drives through the off side besides two copybook straight drives. He also executed a couple of pull shots to perfection, last of which brought India’s whitewash of Zimbabwe. “When he started playing cricket, he was predominantly an off-side player. He would struggle when you bowl on his legs. He also had problem against short deliveries. We worked very hard on improving his all-round game. I would bowl to him for hours in the nets. Sometimes, I used to get tired. I must say, Faiz’s first coach Mangesh Pandit also played a very important role in his career. When he started playing BCCI matches, he could play all the shots. He is a complete batsman now,” Yakub said.

Faiz has scored against better attacks than the present Zimbabwe bowling attack. The Zimbabwe bowlers might not have challenged him much but Yakub knows it takes talent to score at international level. “There’s different pressure at that level. You always have it at the back of your mind that so many people are watching you on television. I am pleased with the way he has played today. He respected the good balls, left well and played some glorious shots,” he said.

BCCI is not known to provide opportunities to players once they cross the age of 30. Faiz will be 31 this September. Indian selectors are likely to go with a full strength side for New Zealand one-day series in October. At the moment, Fazals don’t want to think about the future. They want to live in present and cherish Faiz’s success.