"People often seem to think that I'll focus only on white-ball cricket if I'm sold for a good price at the IPL auction, but that's not true. I know that if you need to get into the Indian team and build a long career, you need to be an all-format player. Being selected for India A is a good opportunity for me. At present, I'm playing a lot of red-ball cricket [Ranji Trophy] and am in good form too. Playing for India is my dream and I want to make sure I convert this opportunity and knock on the door of the Indian team."
These words come from Jharkhand's young wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra. On Saturday he was picked in the India A team for their series against the England Lions. This is the first time Kushagra has been called up to the India A team. He celebrated this the next day by scoring a hundred against Services in the Ranji Trophy. It was the 19-year-old's second first-class century.
"Of late we're seeing players become specialists in different formats," Kushagra says. "Some specialise in limited-overs, others in red-ball cricket. You need to put in extra effort if you want to play all three formats. You need to be strong both mentally and physically. In our domestic season you end up playing all three formats in the span of two months and it isn't easy to switch from one to the other.
"It's even more difficult to do this as a wicketkeeper. But my dream is to represent India in all three formats. Three-format players are at a different level, as you can see from Virat [Kohli] bhaiyya, Rohit [Sharma] bhaiyya and [Jasprit] Bumrah bhaiyya's examples. If you make it to the Indian team at a young age, you can have a long career and you can make comebacks a little more easily even if you get a major injury. That's why I want to get into the Indian team as soon as possible."
In December, Kushagra had made the headlines when Delhi Capitals (DC) signed him for INR 7.2 crores at the IPL auction. Kushagra's mind, however, is occupied not by the IPL but by domestic cricket.
"I speak to a lot of wicketkeepers around the country. I met Wriddhiman Saha once at the Kolkata airport, and I discussed my keeping with him"
"I think I'll get enough time to prepare for the IPL after the domestic season," he says. "So my focus now is only on red-ball cricket. I had faith that I would get a place in the India A squad for the South Africa tour, but that didn't happen. Now that I have been picked, I will make every effort to convert this opportunity."
It's not easy to keep wickets against spinners on turning tracks in India. This is why even though KL Rahul kept wickets during their Test series in South Africa, a lot of former wicketkeepers have advised him to play as a specialist batter in India. For the same reason, KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel were picked as wicketkeepers for the home series against England.
Kushagra, however, is fully prepared for this challenge. He practises a lot against the left-arm spin of his Jharkhand team-mate Shahbaz Nadeem, who has played for India. He has also taken tips from two of India's best keepers in recent times: Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant.
"Whether it's fast bowlers or spinners, keeping in India is not easy, especially in red-ball cricket, but I wouldn't say it's difficult either," Kushagra says. "If your goal is big, you have to put in the hard work. I feel I'm on the right path and I'm constantly learning new things so that I can do even better in the future.
"I speak to a lot of wicketkeepers around the country. I met Wriddhiman Saha once at the Kolkata airport, and I discussed my keeping with him. I asked him what changes I needed to make in my wicketkeeping technique for Indian conditions. When I was in the NCA in Bengaluru, Ravindra Jadeja was there too, and I asked him how to tackle spinners from behind the wicket. He told me a lot of things that I can't tell you here [laughs]."
Kushagra goes on. "Apart from this, during the DC camp I met Rishabh bhaiyya. He told me how I could make big improvements in my keeping without changing my technique in a big way, but by making small adjustments. He told me a lot of things about footwork and glovework. Apart from this I only began keeping wickets after watching Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni], and I still learn a lot by watching his videos."
This story was first published on ESPNcricinfo Hindi. This is a translated version.