Hailing from Bihar’s Gopalganj district, and after failing to clear the physical test for the CSIF (Central Industrial Security Force) Mukesh found his calling in the tennis ball circuit in Kolkata.
And now he stands tall, representing the nation at the highest level, as India clinched a historic series-leveling seven-wicket win against South Africa in Cape Town.
“I think I have been able to fulfil the role assigned by the team management. I am satisfied with my bowling and best part is that I have worked hard and tried my best,” Mukesh stated to the media during India’s series-leveling win against South Africa.
Mukesh, who understood that he wasn’t the first-choice strike bowler for his team being slower than the team’s other pacers, was shrewd in his analysis of the Newlands pitch and figured that in order to be successful, he needed to bowl fuller.
“There’s a lot of difference between bowling on these kind of tracks compared to Indian pitches,” said Mukesh.
“In India, when you try to bowl fuller length the ball moves in the air, but here, if you try to bowl too full, you get smashed.
“So we decided that we will bowl between 6 to 8 metre length (back of length). And since there is lot of bounce on offer you can get wickets.”
India surely were studying the effect of pace in South African conditions, especially after the pace trio of Rabada, Burger and Jansen made light work of them in the first Test.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, who was dismissed off a stunner from Rabada himself, had taken to the nets and trained for hours on end with Mukesh on the other end bowling.
When asked about the impact and influence Rohit has on the bowlers in the team, Mukesh said, “He always tells us about areas to bowl when we seek feedback in the nets. They would tell us ‘if you pitch the ball in this particular length and channel you can trouble us’.”
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