Mid-Day

Abhishek Nayar has hardly put a foot wrong this Ranji Trophy season. Indeed, he has been Mumbai’s crisis man, providing crucial breakthroughs when his team needed them most and effected run-outs that changed the momentum of the game. Nayar also used his willow to telling effect - three centuries and eight 50-plus scores which have resulted in 940 runs, a tally that puts him in third place on the list of top Ranji Trophy run-getters for the season. 

Abhishek Nayar celebrates his century against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium recently. PIC/Suresh KK

However, it was not all that rosy a few months ago when Nayar struggled to maintain a good motivation level. Twenty nine-year-old Nayar revealed to MiD DAY yesterday that he tried different things that included joining a dance class to maintain his hunger. “I did not have a good Indian Premier League (IPL) season (with Kings XI Punjab). I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong. I had stagnated; lacked motivation and wanted to get my competitive edge back.

‘Played different sports’
“I played different sports like table tennis, lawn tennis and also joined a dance class. I tried a lot of different stuff and it helped to an extent,” Nayar said.
Nayar also hired the services of Anand Chulani, a peak performance expert with whom he had worked with at Kings XI Punjab. “Anand has kept me focused,” Nayar said. “He ensures I am in the right place mentally. This has helped me to utilise my abilities to the fullest. All the hard work during the off season is paying off now.”

Known for his flamboyant batting, Nayar has showed tremendous temperament in pressure situations this season be it with the willow or red cherry.
“Emphasis was placed on the process. The results would automatically fall in place. I am enjoying my game better than before now.

Lucky
“As far as playing in pressure situations is concerned, a lot has to do with the intensity of the game. I have been lucky as well. I am not a miracle man and I remind myself not to take anything for granted. I have been honest about my game,” Nayar said.

Nayar, who is only 56 runs away from surpassing Punjab’s Jiwanjot Singh as the leading run-scorer of the season doesn’t read too much into statistics.
“I am terrible at setting targets. I don’t want to think about it. I am very happy with the way things are going. It (milestone) would mean nothing if my team doesn’t win the title. It will happen if it is meant to be,” he signed off.