Buckle down and bat long the way forward for Pradosh

When Pradosh Ranjan Paul scored a brilliant 163 on his India-A debut against South Africa-A in Potchefstroom in December 2023, it seemed the Tamil Nadu left-hander would soon follow in the tracks of his teammate B. Sai Sudharsan in rising the ladder.

However, in the two years since then, the stylish southpaw has failed to build on that momentum with just 482 (2023-24) and 484 runs (2024-25) in the last two Ranji Trophy campaigns.

Now, as the 24-year-old prepares for what could be a pivotal year in his career, he has identified a few areas that were holding him back.

In the recently concluded Buchi Babu tournament, he was the second-highest run-getter (357), which included four half-centuries in five games and led TNCA President’s XI to the final.

“I had a few plans for this tournament and was pleased with my consistency. I wanted to spend more time in the middle and play more straight, cutting down all the risky shots. I was happy that I was able to control my mind and play the way I wanted to,” said Pradosh.

“I have been playing sweeps, reverse sweeps and switch hits for the past two years. It has given me success, but there were a lot of risks involved. That dropped my consistency. That was when I realised I shouldn’t risk my wicket for a boundary,” he added.

On his performances in the last two years, Pradosh felt that it was the failure to convert starts rather than being out of form, something that was seen in the Buchi Babu tournament as well.

“I feel I have to work on it and go back to my chalkboard to find out the reasons why I have been missing those 100s. This is an important year for me. But I don’t want to put a lot of expectations or pressure on myself. If I do that, I won’t be able to stay in the present,” Pradosh emphasised.