Pacer Rajneesh Gurbani hopes to pick Rahul Dravid's brain in maiden India A tour
Gurbani got his maiden call to the Indian A squad for the England tour following an impressive 2017-28 Ranji Trophy season in which he picked up 39 wickets for Vidarbha.
Young Vidarbha pacer Rajneesh Gurbani wants to pick the brains of coach Rahul Dravid and impress upon the stalwart after being selected in the Indian A squad for the upcoming tour of England.
Gurbani got his maiden call to the Indian A squad for the England tour following an impressive 2017-28 Ranji Trophy season in which he picked up 39 wickets to emerge as Vidarbha's leading wicket-taker.
"I am excited and eagerly waiting to learn new things from him (Dravid). He has not seen me, so I will try to get as much knowledge from him as possible," Gurbani told PTI.
"My dream is to play for India and this is a step ahead, one step before the international level. I know if I do good, maybe I will be in the eyes of selectors and I can prove myself. But at present, I am not thinking (about it) because that is my ultimate goal."
Off to his first tour to England with the India A side, Gurbani is keen to live up to the expectations of the national selectors there.
"I am grateful to the selectors who had trusted me and selected me for the (India A) squad. I just want to fulfil their (selectors) expectations in England," the 25-year-old Gurbani said.
India A will play a four-day match against England A from July 16-19 at Worcester apart from a couple of three-day games against county sides.
Gurbani, who was the chief architect of Vidarbha's maiden Ranji Trophy win last season, is hoping that he can perform to the best of his abilities in England.
"My expectations from this (UK) tour is that I want my team to win. It's a three-match series and hopefully, I can contribute to the best of my abilities," said the pacer.
"But I'll approach one match at a time. Whichever match I get to play I will think it as the biggest match of my career."
Gurbani admitted that he has started working hard after receiving the India A call.
"I am just thinking the way I played in Ranji Trophy, I (should) do the same thing. I don't want to focus on the results, I will just focus on the process," Gurbani signed off.