'My Time Will Come'

Undeterred by the ups and downs in his career -- risingto mini stardom following the U-15 World Cup win and subsequently vanishing intooblivion and being left out of the World Cup squad -- Reetinder Singh Sodhi isdetermined to break back into the Indian cricket team.

And helping him in his resurrection is legendarybasketball player Michael Jordan.

"I am reading an autobiography of Jordan. Heexplains in the book how to remove the fear of failure from the mind,"Sodhi said in an interview. "That is very important and that's what I amtrying to do these days."

But it is not that Sodhi cannot counter the negativefeelings for he has nerves of steel. He is prepared to start afresh and emulatehis friends and U-19 mates - Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.

"I am a little disappointed at not making it tothe World Cup squad but I am confident that I will come back into theteam," said Sodhi with a steely calmness.

Sodhi was vice-captain of the Indian team that won theU-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999. And playing alongside Sodhi then were -Yuvraj and Kaif - who later went on to author one of India's finest one-day winsagainst England at Lord's last year.

While Yuvraj and Kaif have carved a niche forthemselves in world cricket, it is an irony of fate that Sodhi is trying topiece together his shattered dreams.

"My cricketing career is back to square one. But Iwill not give up," Sodhi said.

One is led into believing his words as the man fromPatiala is not the one to give up easily and a series of events in recent monthshas helped him remain positive and motivated.

Vikram Rathour is playing for Himchal Pradesh thisseason, and in the absence of Dinesh Mongia, Sodhi is the captain of Punjab.

"Captaining a first-class team is a bigresponsibility and that has given me some maturity. It has also kept me occupiedand helped forget the disappointments," Sodhi said.

Punjab have done well in Ranji Trophy this season andare top of the Elite Group 'B'.

But Sodhi's more memorable moment came a few days agowhen he led North Zone to victory in the Deodhar Trophy.

"I scored 58, picked up a wicket and a catch inthe last match against South Zone which decided the winner," said a beamingSodhi.

The tour of South Africa in 2001, where he played inthe tri-nation one-day series, was the last major tournament for Sodhi althoughhe played in a one-dayer against the West Indies at Jodhpur in the recent homeseries.

But being left out of the team has only strengthenedhis resolve. "I am a firm believer in God. I just want to keepconcentrating on my work and put in more effort. I am confident things willhappen on their own," he said with optimism.

PTI