Abhinav Mukund: Rising Star in the Indian Cricket Galaxy?

By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan

It isn't a big deal if your dad's a cricketer. But when both your parents are cricketers, it is bound to run in your veins as well. Meet Abhinav Mukund, for whom cricket is more than a family affair. He's been born into a family that prays, eats and lives cricket. Dad TS Mukund played almost two decades of First Division cricket, also featured in the TN Ranji and Subbiah Pillai squad in the mid 80s, and mom Lakshmi Mukund played cricket for South Zone University. It isn't hard to imagine that the young lad from Mylapore, Madras was destined to take up the gentleman's game as his profession.

Virtually unheard of in the international cricketing arena, Abhinav came into the limelight recently when the selection committee zeroed in on him to play against the Windies. All thanks to his1211 runs this season from 12 first-class matches with five centuries, the selectors were made to sit up and take notice of him. The injury to Gambhir proved to be a blessing in disguise for this rookie, as it rightfully earned him his test cap.

21 years young, the left-handed opening batsman is the youngest member of the Chennai Super Kings' squad, and has the distinction be being the youngest touring member of the soon to be played Caribbean campaign. Here's how his batting card looks like:

	M	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50
First-class	40	3446	300*	59.41	55.51	13	9
List A	28	1550	130	57.40	82.93	5	10
Twenty20	9	168	64*	24.00	100.00	0	1

He bowls leg breaks too, but he has never allowed his bowling skills to distract him from sharpening his batting prowess. His talent blossomed under the watchful eyes of CS Umapathy, and he was later inducted into NCA in May 2004. The rigorous training there under Bhaskar Pillai and Parthasarathy Sharma has helped him polish his game.

Touring with some of the names who've already made their mark in the international scene at a young age, this experience will sure be a fruitful one for him. With Sehwag pulling out of the series due to injury and Gambhir too being ruled out thanks to some controversial hitches aka injury, it only means that the young gun, in all probability, will be asked to open the innings with Murali Vijay. The state-mate chemistry should help the two understand each other's batting styles and stitch effective partnerships at the top of the order.

A great starting ground, the conditions at West Indies will test and try the youngster's capabilities. Being a strong onside player, his good technical skills and ability to leave the ball will come in handy. Playing of the backfoot being his strong point, he also cuts and pulls the ball very well. To fill in the void when the Big Three retire, this is one smart card played by the selectors. Whether he bogs down under pressure or blossoms, is left for the Caribbean tour to tell.