Mongia eyes place in ODI squad

Mohali:

Dinesh Mongia, the Punjab Ranji Captain, was a regular member of Team India since he made his debut against Australia in 2001. An unbeaten knock of 159 against Zimbabwe in 2002 seemed to signal his arrival. But since the TVS Cup in 2003 he has been more out of the team than in it. His last match was against Pakistan in Delhi earlier this year. "I don't know, it is disappointing actually because from the last two-and-a half years I have not been playing consistently for India, but if you see my performances are pretty good. But again the things that are in my hands are only to perform like the Challenger Trophy," he says. All round performances Mongia, who took India to victory against Zimbabwe in 2002 at Guwahati, has been playing county cricket in England for the last two years. He topped the averages at Lancashire in league cricket and this season gave some solid all round performances to boost the performance for Leicestershire. "I don't think I am really exceptional but with god's grace, things have gone well for me. I love this game, I love playing this game whether it is for my club, my company, my county, my state of my country," he adds. The 28-year-old's fielding gave him an edge over VVS Laxman for the 2003 World Cup but a top score of just 42 in 11 games did not help his cause. With the next World Cup less than 18 months away, Mongia believes he still has the goods to deliver. It is said that left handed batsmen are more garceful to watch than right handed ones. After all there's the great Sir Gary Sobers, Brian Lara, David Gower and ofcourse our very own Sourav Ganguly. Dinesh Mongia may not be artistic or graceful but what he does have is dogged determination and perseverance.