Musheer Khan, the talented Mumbai cricketer, crunched 10 boundaries and two sixes in his excellent unbeaten 105 in India B’s opening fixture of the Duleep Trophy against India A. Although some of his shots would make it to a highlights package, the essence of Musheer’s batting was something else. To gauge that particular trait, you have to scroll through the early part of his innings.
On a track that assisted the seamers right through the first couple of sessions, Musheer was ready to scrap his way to a hundred. On occasions, he was beaten on the outside edge. There were times when he skipped down the deck to negate the movement and looked unconvincing. Yet, he survived.
Yes, in such conditions, a batter needs a bit of luck. But the hidden trait of Musheer was that he seemed to have an erase button hidden somewhere in his brain, which helped him to forget the previous event.
Musheer was also ready to wade through the fine lines of pain and agony. He was hit on the glove by Avesh Khan but after a medical timeout, it was back to business for the talented batter. That spoke volumes for his mental toughness. So, how did his technique stand up to the formidable pace trio of Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh and Akash Deep? To elaborate the point, we have to scratch the outside coating of his innings.
After the early exchanges, where he looked flustered, Musheer picked the length early and allowed the ball to come to him. He also didn’t go jabbing at the ball. And he seems to have the gift of having that bit of extra time.
In addition to his defence and mental fortitude, Musheer also was adept at farming the strike, while playing alongside Navdeep Saini. He seemed to know when to take a single and rotate the strike. He changed gears once the ball lost its shine and the spinners were introduced. Musheer is just 19 years and 191 days old, but he showed the maturity of an experienced batter.