'My Time Will Come'

Young paceman Avishkar Salvi has done the first thingright and is now keen to cement his place in the team by picking more wicketsand not bothering much about the fact that he may have to make way for seniorsonce they return.

The 21-year-old paceman made an impressive debutagainst Bangladesh in the opening match of the TVS Cup following a surprise gesture from captainSaurav Ganguly to give himthe honour of opening the bowling attack.

The frail-looking speedster responded to the captain'sconfidence returning impressive figures of 7-1-15-2 and is now determined tocarry on the good work.

"The two wickets have given me a lot ofconfidence. I was a little jittery playing my first match but my captain backedme. I soon settled down," the soft-spoken Salvi said in an interview.

Salvi got the selectors' nod only after pace spearheadJavagal Srinath decided to take rest after a strenuous World Cup and left-handedpaceman Ashish Nehra opted out because of an injury which requires surgery.

And like many of the younger breed of cricketers, Salvihas grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"I may have got the chance because some of theregulars are not available. I will try to bowl to the best of my ability and Iam sure my day will come," he said.

Salvi, who hails from Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai, is not too worried abouthis fate after the regular pacemen return to the squad.

"My job is to bowl well. I am not really concernedwhether I will be in the team later or not," he said.

For a cricketer who came into the domestic season justtwo seasons ago, Salvi has made rapid strides and has already been hailed as agreat talent, particularly after his impressive tour with India 'A' to theWest Indies recently.

Interim coach Ashok Malhotra had singled him out forspecial praise and had even described him as the "find" of theCarribean tour during which he picked 29 wickets.

Malhotra, who has watched his progress from the verybeginning, also helped him feel at home in the senior team.

After picking as many as 60 wickets in 14 matches inthe first season at the domestic level and his good show in the West Indies,Salvi was understandably quite confident of making it to the national team.

"I knew I had done well and had a good chance ofsecuring a berth in the national team. I was confident." The cricketingbackground in the family has helped Salvi blossom into a mature cricketer andhis parents have been a great source of inspiration.

"My father has played cricket and understands whata player has to go through. My parents have always supported me and I am reallygrateful to them," he said.Salvi also owes a lot to Frank Tyson, the great English fast bowler, who hadmodelled his action during a camp in Mumbai.

"I was lucky to have been selected for that campin Mumbai. He corrected my bowling action and worked with me. Tyson's tipsproved very useful as I have gone from strength to strength," admitted thebowler.

The lanky speedster is now concentrating on working ona few deliveries like the disguised slow one and the yorker, knowing fully wellthat variety more than pace is the key to succeed at the highest level.

Salvi believes that luck also comes into play in thehard life of a fast bowler.

PTI