Disappointed Arvind looks at positives

Arvind held his own in an attack that comprised Zaheer Khan, Charl Langeveldt (occasionally) and Daniel Vettori, picking up crucial wickets and reaffirming the progress he made during the first-class season when he graduated from being a support act to one of the genuine strike forces during Karnataka’s run to the semifinal of the Ranji Trophy.

“It was pretty disappointing not to have won the final, I was dreaming of a victory,” Arvind told newsmen after the Challengers were brushed aside in the final by Chennai Super Kings.

“It is unfortunately a part of the game. But the whole experience was a dream come true for me, to take lots of wickets. I received tremendous help from Zak bhai and Dan Vettori, and especially the coach (Ray Jennings) and Venkatesh Prasad.”

Arvind hopes to use the IPL experience as a stepping stone for greater glory. “I have learnt a lot from playing in this team,” he went on. “Every ball is a learning lesson for me now. I have learnt how to bowl to good and experienced batsmen in such a competitive field. Zak has been helping out, telling me how to bowl in the death, how to approach my opening spell, how to work on my variations…”

Despite being a consistent performer for Karnataka in the last two seasons, it’s the IPL that has thrust Arvind into the limelight. “It’s not like that,” he pointed out. “Every game is like a limelight for me. During the last two years, I have been performing well. The basic thing is I have been improving a lot day by day by seeing the seniors.

“Playing for Karnataka, I have benefited from players like Robin (Uthappa), Vinay (Kumar), (Sunil) Joshi, and from my coaches Sanath Kumar and (Somshekar) Shiraguppi, who have been helping me a lot. This has helped me build confidence about myself. I am looking forward to more.”

Through all that, though, Arvind is modest and humble, aware that there are various areas on which he has to work. “I bowled a wrong line to Vijay today,” he admitted frankly after being taken apart by the Super Kings opener. “Twenty20 is a batsman’s game, but it’s a game where one day he dominates and the other day I dominate. That is part and parcel of the game.”