India’s limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year, brought forward quite a few positives. Among those positives, was the form displayed by experienced Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal, who made his international debut at a relatively high age. Fazal, who got an opportunity to bat in the third ODI at Harare, made the most out of his chance and scored a fluent unbeaten half-century.
Based on the form displayed, Fazal was chosen for the India A tour of Australia. Having played in the ODI Quadrangular series and the two 4 day games, Fazal might not have made an array of high scores, but always got decent starts. With the competition for the opener’s slot in the Indian test side at an all time high, Fazal is another candidate who wants to put his name forward.
“I always wanted to play international cricket because I was always dreaming about playing for India,” Fazal said in an interview with Cricbuzz. “The dream was always there and I love the game so much. The game itself is a big motivation for me.”
Opening up about the challenging conditions in Australia, the southpaw said, “Handling these conditions relates both mentally and technically. If you’re mentally prepared and free it helps.” “After finally experiencing the cauldron of international cricket, Fazal craves another opportunity in the big time. “It was great fun (ODI debut against Zimbabwe), I worked really hard and it took a long time but I enjoyed it,” he added.
“The length is shorter, which the Australia A quicks bowl really well,” he says. “The pink ball you can sight really well, so I have been enjoying playing against it. The one thing that really troubles you is the bounce and that is the thing I’ve needed to tackle,” Fazal added.
Reflecting on the tour as a whole, the opener mentioned that he enjoyed the campaign. “I have enjoyed it a lot because it is different conditions to India,” he says. “To learn in different conditions and how to play on them is important because in the future we will be used to it if we tour again.”