da 888casino： He once walked into an airplane, pre-empted the steward, grabbed acarton of soft drinks and went about distributing it to all thepassengers on the aircraft
Anand Vasu29-Nov-2001He once walked into an airplane, pre-empted the steward, grabbed acarton of soft drinks and went about distributing it to all thepassengers on the aircraft. In keeping with that incident, he sports amischievous grin that rests awkwardly on a strapping, muscular frame.Iqbal Siddiqui now smiles broader than ever after being named in thesquad for the first Test against England at Mohali.The lad from Aurangabad has indeed come a long way since his firstclass debut. “I made my debut for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophyknock-out match against Railways in 1992-93. Quite a long time ago,”he admits. But then again, neither the conditions nor the wickets inIndia make for ideal fast bowling conditions. Siddiqui, however, putin the hard work, shelving frustration and waiting for his chance. “Ijust wanted to reach where I am today and see my name in the Indianteam,” he says.To make it to the Indian team, Siddiqui has had to toil, both in termsof learning his craft and building muscle and endurance. “If I had notworked hard, none of this would have come to me, even if a bit late.When matches neared, I used to work even more, keeping myself fitduring the games,” he says.More than once in this period of waiting in the wings, Siddiqui hasbeen to England in the Indian off-season, turning out for club sidesthere. Although he recognises some of the benefits in doing so, heclearly has no illusions about the matter. “It is no use really; afterall, we don’t play for county teams, just small club sides. It justhelped me keep fit, bowling every week and training and things likethat,” Siddiqui explains. With a chuckle, the Maharashtra seamer adds,”After all, we are not such big cricketers in India that people willprepare wickets specially for us in the winter.”Although he has bagged over 230 first-class wickets in all, it is onlynow that the selectors have given him the big break. His four-wickethaul against England at Jaipur certainly helped tilt the scales in hisfavour. Siddiqui, however, is quick to state that it is not a one-offperformance that has earned him his place. “It is not one innings orthe other where I have performed well. Year after year, my aim hasbeen to surpass the previous year’s achievements. I’m just fightingwith myself,” he says somewhat philosophically.Like him or not, think him worthy of a Test spot or not, Siddiqui issure to catch your attention. He is the kind of character that theIndian team could do with. Jovial yet deadly serious about his work,casual yet intense with the ball in hand, Siddiqui might just carvehimself a place in memory at Mohali.