I am my own greatest critic: Saba Karim

Erudite cricketers are a rarity. Saba Karim is an exception. He speaks his mind quite candidly and on Friday at the TISCO office in Calcutta, Saba Karim talked about a number of topics. Primary amongst them was his intention to establish his place in the Indian side. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: There was criticism about your wicket keeping when you were dropped from the Indian side last April. What are the areas that you have worked upon that prompted the selectors to call you back? And this time, even some of the commentators have been singing praises about your work.

A: Actually, I worked upon the mental aspect of the game. My main fault was that I was not focussed enough during the three and a half hours that an innings last. In fact, you can term the fault as `inconsistent concentration.' I worked very hard to improve this aspect of my game. Nowadays before a match starts, I try to rehearse mentally the way I am going to keep wickets to all the bowlers. It has helped me to a great extent. Now I am mentally more alert to the events taking place on the field.

Q: But then that is the mental aspect. There was criticism about your leg side gathering.

A: Yes, I have overcome the problem by viewing video tapes of my matches. I realized that I was not moving down the leg side quickly. I was not going in line of the ball. I worked very hard to rectify this defect. I think I have been able to rectify my defects to a certain extent.

Q: There is an opinion that modern day cricket is changing every day. Did you find it difficult to adjust after being recalled to the national side after a gap of about nine months?

A; No, not really. I was not away for all that long. On the other hand, I would say that there has been only one real change in the game. Now everybody has to contribute in all the departments of the game. The so called theory of batsmen and bowlers have disappeared into thin air. You have to be a master of all the departments.

Q; How difficult is it for a player to be one's own critic? Just a minute back you said that you saw your tapes to rectify yourself. Moreover, you do not have a coach. So, how do you carry on?

A: A person can be his greatest critic. Frankly, I enjoy being my own coach or critic as you may term it. I regularly watch tapes of my batting and wicket keeping to find out my faults. A defect may creep in any day. I would also like to say that some discussions with Nayan Mongia helped. But more than anything else, I regularly keep going back to the tapes of my matches. That is probably the only thing that makes me strive for more satisfaction.

Q: Most of the time in your career you have got a nod over other candidates because of your batting prowess. However, there has been nothing to show as proof of your batting abilities.

A: I am also not satisfied with the way that I have batted. I have opened the innings and have also gone lower down the order. I should have contributed more with the bat. I am confident about my abilities as a batsman. Hopefully in times to come, I will be able to erase this question mark also. But then I am the first to admit that in the 34 matches that I have played, I have not really done anything worthwhile with the bat.

Q: Can you name some of the bowlers whom you respect?

A: First on the list is Alan Donald. I have faced him in the slog overs and I could never believe that any bowler could be so attacking at the death. Donald always comes at you. He never gives you the opportunity to hit. Then there is Wasim Akram because of his tremendous variety. Shaun Pollock is also a lovely mover of the ball. He bowls stump to stump making it very difficult for the batsman to hit him. And now I have also placed Shoiab Akhtar in the list. Not because of his speed but because of the line that he bowls. He rarely gives you width. Moreover, even with a ball that is seven or eight overs old he can reverse swing it.

Q: But more than these two it was Waqar Younis and Abdur Razzaq who surprised the Indian team at Sharjah.

A: Yes, Waqar was a shock. We never really gave him any importance during our team meetings. But he proved us all wrong. And Abdur Razzaq is a hugely talented cricketer. Its refreshing the way he plays the game. He bowls a nagging length and also scores quick runs. A genuine all rounder.

Q: The Baroda match against the South Africans should be specially refreshing for you. It was your comeback match and it was the series decider.

A: Yeah, it felt good to be a part of such a match. We had talked during the team meeting prior to the match that we should finish off the series at Baroda itself. The funny part of the game was however, that when I went into bat, I was least prepared. We were cruising along and I really did not expect that I would be called into bat. So as I was walking to the middle, I was just telling myself to relax. Another important factor was that I had Robin Singh as my partner. We know each other very well and we compliment one another in the way we play. I just told him, Robin, I am not going miss a single ball to score. You play your game. In the end, however, it felt great to be a part of a successful team.

Q: So what are your goals for the future?

A: My goal is to contribute in each and every match. I always view each match separately. Hopefully, I will be there in the team for the Asia Cup. I would certainly like to provide more consistency behind the stumps and in front of it.

Q: But then, you will not be playing any more matches to prepare for the Asia Cup.

A: That is why I am so keen to play local matches even though the standard is like studying in class nine and being promoted into graduation level. The problem is that here we play spinners. And at the International level it is only fast bowlers and seamers. There is virtually no breathing space during an international match. The fielding, bowling and batting is simply superlative.

Q: Hobbies other than cricket.

A: I love spending time with the family. Music especially ghazals by Jagjit Singh is a passion. I also like soft music and listen to groups like Simon -Gurfunkel, Dire Straits and a few others. Fictional reading also takes a lot of time. However, the primary amongst these is spending time with my son Fidel and wife Rashmi.