Bhubaneswar: Having been the leading run-scorer for Odisha in the last two (2017-18 and 2018-19) Ranji Trophy seasons, expectations are bound to be high regarding the new captain Subhranshu Senapati. The 22-year-old Subhranshu Senapati, however, has set himself a bigger goal – to score consistently and seal an India A spot.
“Last year I did well, got some runs under my belt and was in the scene. But this year I aim to better my last season’s performance and try to break into India A side. Getting an IPL contract isn’t in my hands, but whatever (domestic tournaments) is there at my disposal I will try to score more runs and claim my stake in front of the selectors,” Subhranshu Senapati told Orissa POST from Vadodara.
The Odisha team are currently in the Gujarat town for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However their opener against Baroda was called-off Tuesday with heavy overnight rains making the ground conditions unplayable.
The Keonjhar-born Senapati broke into the senior team in 2016 and has since then been one of the consistent performers for Odisha at the national level. While he topped the batting charts for the state, last Ranji season with 617 runs from nine games; the 2017-18 season also yielded him 427 runs from six matches.
Senapati, who was handed the captain’s armband towards the end of last season, admitted this year his target would be to help the team play as a unit.
“A lot of young guys have come into the squad this time. As a captain my first and foremost aim would be to help the team play as a unit and qualify for the knockout stages” Senapati said.
“One of our main problems has been that could never play as a unit over the years. We have an interesting group where we would be getting to play some of the India internationals. The boys should take that opportunity and try to improve individually,” added the right-hander.
PNN