'I was not told my place was uncertain'

His handshake felt like soft sponge but there was so much warmth in the exchange. Difficult to believe these are the same hands that hits sixes at will at Shivaji Park. Despite being a cricketer – and an Indian at that – Sanjay Bangar seems unassuming to a fault.

Be it an attacking hundred or a five-wicket haul, it is not in his demeanour to burst into convulsive histrionics on a cricket field. Comes as little wonder that a sports scribe once said: Bangar’s face resembles a brooding accountant whose balance sheet does not tally.

In the second part of his interview with Deba Prasad Dhar, he reflects on the phase that bottlenecked his march. Bangar hasn’t lost hopes of a comeback; the forgotten warrior believes truth and honesty will prevail eventually.

Deba Prasad Dhar: When Carl Hooper’s squad toured India in 2002, a standpoint gained widespread ground that you do not force the pace.

Sanjay Bangar: There was no communication whatsoever from the team management that I had to accelerate the scoring. During the Ahmedabad one-dayer of the same series, we had to score 100 runs in 10 overs. I got an unbeaten 57 off just 41 balls. I went for my shots. People were surprised. They thought there was only one method to my batting. I made a point that I could play the other way as well.

Deba Prasad Dhar: The team management might have not conveyed it to you, but surely you couldn’t have been unmindful of the stories that were doing the rounds. Talks about your slow strike rate were time and again underscored in the dailies.

Sanjay Bangar: Before the World Cup, there was a Challenger Trophy where I scored 70 odd in two matches. I had hit about seven to eight sixes in both the innings. It is not that I cannot switch gears.

It is the team management’s prerogative to convey what it wants. If they need changes, they ought to be forthright about it. It should have been communicated.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Your Test career ended abruptly after India’s disastrous tour to New Zealand just before the World Cup. You did well with the ball. What was so bad about those wickets that India struggled to post three-figure totals?

Sanjay Bangar: We played on sub-standard wickets. In the past, Indians failed overseas because they could not acclimatise themselves to the conditions. But in this series, even New Zealand struggled to post three figure scores. The one-day series was no different. It was ridiculous.

The entire team failed but I found myself dropped for the next tour. After the team returned, I wasn’t named in the Board President XI. I didn’t even find a place in the India ‘A’ team.

Deba Prasad Dhar: You continued to be sidelined despite your performance in Railways’ Ranji Trophy triumph in 2005. (Bangar scored 77 and claimed two wickets in the second innings)

Sanjay Bangar: I never got a look in after the New Zealand tour. If you see my first 10 test matches, I average nearly 40 as an opener, which is decent enough.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Did you talk to the captain where you went wrong?

Sanjay Bangar: Nobody called me. As opener, I was asked to play a particular role. I had a very good series against West Indies (at home) in 2002. I was involved in a stand of 200, opening the innings with Virendra Sehwag at Wankhede, Mumbai. I scored 80 in the Kolktata test.

Then floated murmurs about my slow scoring. Nobody cautioned me that my place was under threat, neither the captain nor the coach. The team management should have told me, “Sanjay, now we want you to play freely.”

Deba Prasad Dhar: You were part of the World Cup squad in South Africa. Disappointed that you did not get to play a single game?

Sanjay Bangar: Obviously, nobody likes to be a passenger in the team. At the start of the World Cup, I felt that I had a chance. But after getting into the Super Six, it was quite obvious that the management did not want to make any changes.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Did you feel that you should have been tried in the games that were less significant? Maybe the matches against Kenya and Sri Lanka?

Sanjay Bangar: It all depends on the team management. To be very honest, at the highest level you want to play against the best. It is not that you are tested against a weaker side and then you succeed and go ahead. In international cricket, the opposition does not matter.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Can’t resist talking about the finals. Did Indians really back themselves to overhaul 359?

Sanjay Bangar: We knew it would be an uphill task. We had to start with a positive frame of mind.

Deba Prasad Dhar: What did the captain say during the break?

Sanjay Bangar: He didn’t say anything. John Wright said that we would need a boundary each over to come close to the target.

Deba Prasad Dhar: It was said that batting first was Ganguly’s decision.

Sanjay Bangar: It was a team decision. Everybody who had a say was asked. Overnight rain prompted our decision to bat first. There was a heavy downpour at four in the morning. It was quite overcast.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Your one-day career took a backseat after that unfortunate mix-up with Ganguly at MCG in the first match against Australia during the 2004 VB tri-series Down Under. It opened the sluice gates for Australia to knife through the tail. You didn’t have a good match with the ball conceding 19 runs of 3 overs. We saw on TV how Ganguly was livid as he trudged back to the pavilion. Did he have something to tell you in the dressing room?

Sanjay Bangar: In fact he was extremely supportive. It was my first ball. And it was the last ball of that over. I didn’t know where the ball had gone. I was looking for the ball and Sourav came charging in. Even if we had taken a single, I would have been on strike next over. Didn’t make sense to go for that run when I was blind to what was happening.

Deba Prasad Dhar: You should have given your wicket away. Ganguly was set.

Sanjay Bangar: There wasn’t a chance. Ganguly came half-way and I wasn’t able to react. It had to happen.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Tell us something about the last over against Zimbabwe at the Adelaide Oval. You are not accustomed to bowling at the death.

Sanjay Bangar: That was the first time I was given a ball. When the team requires seven runs to win with six wickets in hand, the batting team starts favourites. I was the underdog. Even if they had scored those seven runs, it was expected. The fear of failure wasn’t there.

I bowled a couple of dot balls, pitched the ball full and straight. Then I felt we had a realistic chance of pulling off the match.

Deba Prasad Dhar: And that was the last time you ever played for India.

Sanjay Bangar: I was asked to lead the team inside. Surprisingly, I wasn’t considered for the next four or five games. There was the 17th player (Amit Bhandari) who flew in. He got to play the remaining three games ahead of me.

Deba Prasad Dhar: What is it about the tags Lucky Mascot and Buddha? India won five tests out of the six you played.

Sanjay Bangar: The media carried it too far. It probably coincided with India’s wins. I felt nice that I was called the lucky mascot.

Deba Prasad Dhar: With youth dropping their calling cards, how do you rate your chances of making a comeback?

Sanjay Bangar: I recently read Kiran More’s interview. He said if you are good enough you could play till 40. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Deba Prasad Dhar: Don’t read too much into Kiran More’s words. We are used to his pep talks.

Sanjay Bangar: If age were a factor, I wouldn’t have debuted at 29. Wasim Jaffer has made a comeback. Dinesh Mongia has earned a recall. I have to give myself one good season. Then probably I can say it doesn’t matter. I need to perform exceedingly well and score around 1000 runs this season. Then if I am not picked, I may reconcile myself to the fact that age is a factor.

I need a big first class season. After being dropped, I wasn’t tested in a Board President XI or Irani Trophy for that matter. I have been denied an opportunity.

Deba Prasad Dhar: With your kind of batting, you should have been a natural inclusion for the Challenger Trophy?

Sanjay Bangar: It is just a phase. Everybody has to go through such phases. I have been through all this before. I feel I have done reasonably well in the limited opportunities I got. Not counting myself out as yet. Giving myself every chance of a comeback, training hard and improving my game. It comes naturally to me; I have got a good work ethic. Hope there is a turnaround in my life.