Ramesh raring to force his way back

Indian opening batsman Sadagopan Ramesh is currently enjoying a short break from cricket before he picks up his bat again for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association senior division league which commences on July 7. He talks to CricInfo's Sankhya Krishnan on his experiences in the game and his hopes for the future.

I made my Ranji debut at the age of 19. Got a hundred on debut but I didn't believe I'd play for India in the next two years. I started thinking about representing India when I got a hundred against West Indies A.

It happened very accidentally, I started my career as an off spinner in the U-16. At that time I went at No.9 against Hyderabad at Chepauk. Gradually I started scoring runs and they were trying to push me up. In a local tournament, they asked me to open for SPIC when one of the openers got injured. They took me as an opener for the U-22 team and I got a double century. Everyone then started believing I've got potential.

Definitely as an opening batsman it's going to be a great challenge. The bowlers are fresh, wickets are fresh. With the new ball any Tom, Dick or Harry can bowl two or three good balls without being aware of it. As an opening batsman even if you hit two boundaries, the next ball can be a good one.

Didn't have any role models. I've always liked Mike Atherton. He didn't have great ability but he's always there to perform. He hangs around to perform. You can take attitude from people, not style, that's what I believe.

Definitely it was a joy to make my debut at Chepauk. I'm used to that kind of atmosphere. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, having to face these kind of bowlers. I've seen them picking wickets like this (snaps his fingers) on TV. Before this I'd played for Board President's against Pakistan at Gwalior and got a fifty in that game. When I made it to the Indian team, I had a lot of runs behind me. I was confident that I would not fail for two innings continuously. To be very very frank, the first innings I played for India was the easiest innings I played so far. I was so relaxed, getting my shots everywhere. Not feeling that much of pressure because I was so confident I'd make runs.

We were playing Pakistan after about 11 years and definitely we wanted to beat them. I personally thought we should have won that game after Sachin's brilliant hundred. Being a member of the team, I saw Sachin crying in the dressing room after that game, it was so emotional. It just triggered me off that we should win this game at least with the last wicket. When we lost there was pindrop silence.

My first innings for India. I wouldn't say it was a great quantity but that 40 had a lot of quality. The time I went in to bat, the last half hour, is not favourable for any cricketer, especially against Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

It's all about attitude and mental toughness. When you face Wasim Akram, even after bowling a ball he's going to come and tell you something. You're going to feel the pressure throughout the over, throughout the game. It was the same in Australia. They've got some brilliant bowlers like McGrath, Brett Lee, Damien Fleming. Being a newcomer, I knew it was going to be a great challenge. Even if I play 2-3 good shots, they're going to come and tell me something and try to put me under pressure. I thought the important thing in Australia was the number of overs I played. Instead of targeting a hundred or 50 or 75 runs, I should be playing out the first 25 or 30 overs, that was the plan I had. I was learning a lot from different wickets. When we played in Brisbane, I made the judgement that on the first day, Australian wickets are a bit spongy, the ball is bouncing but not skidding through. On the third and fourth days, it's coming a bit faster than on the first day. The wicket is binding together and the ball is skidding through fast. I think when I play in Australia for the second time, there shouldn't be any excuse not to perform. I should perform straightaway.

I consider Shoaib Akhtar a bit faster because I played him in the subcontinent. He was really bowling quick in Calcutta. Brett Lee I played on quicker wickets like Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. But I think Shoiab is a yard quicker. I still remember his bouncers to me in Calcutta.

I practised a lot in Madras before that game. Probably it was not with somebody's pace like Srinath or Agarkar but with local bowlers who don't have that much pace to hurt you. Srinath is obviously yards quicker and at Bangalore I realised that playing continuously for six balls, the thumb was hurting me a bit. I realised I couldn't play 100 per cent so I gave them the option that I could be left out. My natural game is not to stick around, I want to play my shots, so that could have affected my game.

Probably a lack of experience has been there. That was the beginning of my career so I was really excited about my fifties. Now after getting 6-7 fifties, I'm trying to reach three figures. Probably I'll start doing that.

I'd say I don't have big ability like Sachin Tendulkar or Saurav Ganguly but I feel that in the mental attitude, I'm quite competent compared to any cricketer. If I play, I should be a winner, I shouldn't be surviving, that's the way I think. When I go in to bat, I don't have a big target like getting a hundred. I start off by setting a target of thirty or forty runs. After getting to 60 or 70, I set my sights on a hundred. That's the advantage I have. I was making it very simple with my attitude.

I'd say outside the off stump is a universal problem. No batsman is sure outside the off stump. Even if you take Don Bradman, out of 10 times, I'm sure he would have been caught at slip 8 times. All left handers have this problem since right arm bowlers angle it away from their body. Any left hander in the world likes to play away from his body, its natural. Ultimately I think it's the performance that counts. Even if you make a hundred with ten fours through the slips, they say you've got the best technique. If you play some good shots but get 20 runs, they say you've got to improve your game. The basics should be there but you can't play every ball perfectly like a computer. It's instinct, that's what I feel.

Whenever I've played for India in Tests, I've done really well. So it shouldn't be a problem. In case they replace me, I'm really confident to get back with lots of runs in domestic cricket. My feeling is I shouldn't be facing any problems for the Test squad.

Obviously you can't replace Sachin and Saurav. But I wanted to be in the team as the third opener. If someone gets injured, I should be the automatic choice. Probably they can try me at No.3 if with my form, I get some hundreds against Zimbabwe.