Hungry Jalaj sets sights on bigger challenges

During the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, Jalaj Saxena ended with 49 wickets at an average of 22.55. That wasn't his only contribution that season. His 588 runs in ten games played a crucial role in Madhya Pradesh reaching the semifinal for the first time since 1998-99, where they had reached the final and lost to Karnataka by 96 runs. This time, though, they lost out to Mumbai on the basis of the first innings lead.

Laurels followed for Saxena and so did the disappointments. He was awarded the Lala Amarnath Award for the best allrounder for the second consecutive year but was also inexplicably left out of the Irani Cup squad. Saxena, in that season, was just one step away from becoming only the second player in the history of Ranji Trophy to take 50 wickets and score 500 runs.

Saxena's career has somewhat been a story of near misses. He's unsung but not uncelebrated. At a time when runs flowed from his bat, wickets continued to come, he also became a classic example of a player becoming just shy of catching the national selector's eye. There were opportunities with the India A side but he failed to grab them as well.

In the last edition, Saxena's hunger for new challenges forced him to move away from Madhya Pradesh. It was also his bid to boost chance to come back into the reckoning, he says. After 20 wickets from seven games and 272 runs, KeralaCricket Association decided to extend his contract by a year.

This season, though, Saxena has been exceptional. His 29 wickets from four games at an average of 13.86 and 325 runs at 65 have given Kerala a realistic chance of qualifying for the knockouts. A wait that has stretched for over a decade now. Kerala find themselves third in Group B after four games with three wins.

In the game against Rajasthan, Saxena ended with 10 for 147 and scores of 79 and an unbeaten 105 in the two innings. He became only the third player to score a century and take eight wickets in an innings in Ranji Trophy after Chandra Sarwate (101 and 9 for 61) for Holkar in 1945-46 and Ravinder Pandit (158 and 8 for 33) for Jammu & Kashmir in 1986-87.

Saxena says it's his hunger to play knockout clashes that has helped him perform well. "I won't say there's pressure on me from the team. I've always tried to put pressure on myself. When I decided to move from Madhya Pradesh, it was huge decision for me. I was doing well for MP and I thought if I move to a small team, they will bank on me and there will be more challenges for me," he tells Cricbuzz. "There was a challenge to help the team do better. The aim was that if I'm able to help the team do better, then I'll get noticed as well.

"The goal is make them qualify for the knockouts. The last time I played for Madhya Pradesh, I played the semifinal clash against Mumbai. I really, really want to play the knockout matches in Ranji Trophy. The aim [is] to go as far as possible in the tournament. Of course, we can't be looking too far ahead. It's a match by match process and the focus is on that."

It was his sessions with Narendra Hirwani, at the Cricket Club of Indore, that helped Saxena evolve as a bowler a few years ago. Having moved to Kerala, the all-rounder now accepts he doesn't get a lot of opportunities to work with the former India player. That, however, he feels hasn't hurt his performances. He's made it a point to stay busy during the off season and be ready for the season.

"Since I've moved to Kerala, I haven't had much time with him. But it was his guidance, when I was playing for MP and practicing at the Cricket Club of Indore, that's helped me a lot," he says. "My focus, now, has been a lot on the training during the off season. Fitness, bowling, my batting and I try to work on every aspect of the game. In the last 3-4 years, I've worked really hard.

"I also play in the Chennai League and the Dhaka Premier League. The Chennai League is pretty tough and the 10 three-day matches that I play there help me stay in shape. Two months in Chennai and then 20-25 days of playing in Bangladesh has helped my game.

"After that, I've get about one and half months or a two-month break. At that time I work on specific things like fitness training and the skill work. I try to add something new to my skills."

And while Saxena hasn't been able to spend time with Hirwani, he's now trying to pick the brains of Dav Whatmore, the Kerala coach and former Australia player. "He's a very professional person. The team has gelled really well under his coaching. He's got everyone performing and gives importance to every player and he knows how to get performances out of players," Saxena reveals. "His concept is very simple. He wants to give the players everything that's possible. Whatever help I need from him, he's always ready to work on that."

Around 2012 was Saxena's best opportunity. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were struggling to make a mark at the highest level. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were still trying to find their feet in Test cricket. He is 30 now. The chances of him getting back into the pool of fringe players appear slim. But, if you were to take his word, the belief still keeps him going.

"The ultimate dream is to play for the country. But for now I'm trying to enjoy the game. To be honest, I still believe that if I keep putting in the effort, keep performing, good things will happen to me," he says.

But then, Indian domestic cricket is a wonderful paradigm. For every Rahul Dravid it has produced, there have always been the likes of Amol Muzumdar and Shantanu Sugwekar. For every Ashwin and Jadeja that have emerged, there will always been a Nadeem and a Saxena.