Kerala had a disappointing outing in the recent Inter-State Twenty20 South Zone qualifiers in Chennai. The team led by Sachin Baby could manage only two wins from five games and ended up fourth in the six-team tournament. However, three Kerala players - opener Vishnu Vinod and pacers Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi - made it to the South Zone squad for the inter-zonal tournament.
In the South Zone leg, Vishnu proved his worth and turned heads with his aggressive batting at the top of the order. The 23-year-old scored 218 runs from 132 balls at a strike rate of 165.15 in five matches. He topped the batting charts for Kerala, notched up two fifties and smashed 18 fours and 14 sixes. The youngster from Tiruvalla has given himself a great chance of being picked up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 20.
"I am happy with my performances and it was satisfying to contribute to the team's cause. There were a couple of games which we could have won, but that is the nature of T20 cricket. The outcome of the match changes in a couple of overs," said Vishnu.
The all-India inter-zonal tournament begins in Mumbai on February 12 and the third year BA Political Science student of Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla, is keen to do well.
"The immediate focus is to carry forward the good work in the zonal competition. Then comes the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament. As for the IPL, I have applied for the player auction and I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
Vishnu has been a heavy scorer for the Kerala Under-23 and U-25 squads and the selectors rewarded him by blooding him in the Ranji Trophy this season. He made a fine start to his first-class career by scoring 58 against Haryana in his very first innings. However, he struggled in the two games thereafter and could not retain his place in the playing eleven as Kerala failed to qualify for the knockout phase.
"The fact that I was part of the state squad in T20 and 50-over formats made me feel at home. In fact, I feel my attacking game is best suited to the longer format as I get more value for my shots with the aggressive field settings. True, there was a dip in my performance after the debut match."
Vishnu has immense self-belief and the team management too has backed the youngster. "In T20s I was given the license to go after the bowling and make most of the field restrictions. Even in age-group cricket, coach Balachandran sir always kept faith in me by encouraging me to go out and play my natural game."
P. Balachandran, who has closely followed Vishnu's progress, has no doubt that the youngster will be a big asset for Kerala. "Vishnu is a naturally gifted batsman and a match-winner. He can tackle both pace and spin with ease. He can pick the ball early and can play in all formats of the game. He's got the ability to play big knocks and score quickly. During my coaching stint, he very rarely failed. He's a brilliant fielder and a handy wicketkeeper too," said Balachandran who had an unceremonious exit as Kerala Ranji coach midway through this season.
Vishnu has a long way to go, but the signs so far have been encouraging. One hopes Vishnu makes the most of the chances and goes on to chart out a successful career.