Ranji Trophy: An India call is not expected, but Jalaj Saxena continues all-round shows to keep Kerala afloat vs J&K | Cricket News

Jalaj Saxena is 38 and he chuckles that he “doesn’t really expect the phone to ring tomorrow.” That is cricket-speak for getting picked to play for India, and the selectors calling up with the news. It’s just that instead of staring at the phone waiting eternally for it to ring, he decided to go hammer and tongs against the run of play, and keep reminding the young ‘uns that a Ranji Trophy quarterfinal is five days long.
He is not filmy enough to say, ‘Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.’ But for 78 balls, he kept punching holes in a pretty sturdy J&K bowling unit, almost teasing them for not managing to tame an old ‘un like him. His 67 had six fours and three sixes, looking utterly unbothered cloying pace or taunting spin.
“It’s an unrealic dream (being picked for India),” but what’s left if you stop dreaming, he says. So, might as well keep putting himself out there, and reminding selectors of what they are overlooking.
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Saxena’s type-face of spin bowling-allrounder was taken. Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar. Jayant Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav. There was always someone. So, he just went about accumulating runs and wickets, not bothering to get tagged the dreaded word: ‘domestic giant’. But because he was so good at what he did, it put Kerala in the quarters.
“I don’t get sleepless nights about why selectors are not picking me. It’s just that the India dream keeps me motivated. I still have that dream to play for India, but no expectations,” he says. It’s a strangely content mindspace. Luckily for his home state Madhya Pradesh and now Kerala, where he’s a much-loved guest player, his constant efforts to stay relevant has done them a lot of good.
Man for a crisis
Against J&K, Saxena single-handedly stemmed a dam-burst as Auqib Nabi wreaked havoc. “He’s very nippy and was bowling in the right areas,” Saxena explained. It was his cue to enter battle.
“Three wickets down (for a measly 11), I had to back my instincts. It was tricky because another couple of wickets would’ve done us in. I took calculated risks. Told myself I’ve done this in the past.”Story continues below this ad
It was plainly an assault, when he started with a pair of sixes, making it look like he and the rest were batting on two different pitches. Umar Nazir had a stranglehold on opener Akshay Chandran which never loosened. Saxena though, with his wide-spaced golf-club like grip, flicked the massive Nazir to fine leg for a six. He struck an encore, just for kicks. Nasir Lone, marginally slower, was maced over point.
Saxena, single-handedly, might’ve pushed this contest into the fourth day. “It was not the correct time to be disappointed,” he would later say about the match situation and his career. “It’s called a Test match (5-day game) for a reason. We can still get back into this game,” he promised as Kerala reached 200/9 and MD Nidheesh and Salman Nizar took their cues to retaliate in aggressive fashion.
“When I get into my zone, I back myself to play shots,” Saxena said. “In the off-season, I do my hard work,” he would say, looking as fit as any of the other tough ones.

Not being off-spinner No.1 might’ve scuttled his India goals, but the veteran’s all-round shows with T20-style batting are helping the state team. “I even opened for my state. I can always bat,” he would remind with a smile. Bat rather well, actually.”