Zubayr tunes up for fresh challenge

A persistent niggle with most teams visiting the Indian subcontinent is the difficulty in tackling the spin-friendly pitches and tropical climate.

Every once in a while, there will be players that stand out and masterfully handle the situation, like Haseeb Hameed did when England last toured India.

Considering it was his first game in India, one man that looked assured at the crease on the opening day of the warm-up game between Board President's XI and South Africa 'A' was Zubayr Hamza.

Being brought up on green-top wickets, the right-hander stayed resilient under overcast conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday and struck a patient 104 off 167 balls, making the Indian bowlers toil in the process.

"It was a good experience, first time playing in India. It was just about trying to access conditions, giving myself a chance to assess the condition what we might play in the first game in the same venue. I enjoyed my time, and fortunately scored runs," he said.

Foreign players often would want to attract the interest of of franchisee's in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, but this youngster wants to remain grounded and up his game gradually.

"Not at all! Genuinely speaking, I haven't thought about that at all. I am fortunate enough to be selected for the four-day side and my main goal is to enjoy myself in these conditions, while facing the challenges that come with it against a very strong India 'A' side," revealed the 23-year-old.

Being an alumnus of Rondebosch Boys' HS in Cape Town, where the likes of Gary Kirsten and HD Ackerman graduated from, could be added pressure to make it big and Zubayr divulged the drawbacks he faced while feeling that pressure.

"Two years ago, I did not have a good debut season in the franchise. I think you want to do so well that you put too much pressure on yourself and ended up getting dropped. Fortunately, this past season I got a lucky break, I got a chance again. For me it was kind of relieving myself and taking it ball by ball."

Zubayr has made rapid stride since a poor debut season and now averages 51.01 in first-class cricket. But he is very clear about taking it one day at a time: "One of my ways of coping with pressure is trying to focus and compete at the level I'm playing at. For example, I have been selected for this tour so now I want to test myself and see if I can compete at the 'A' level. I'm solely focused on that right now."