Dream of Wanting to Play for India Keeps Me Going - Robin Uthappa

When Robin Uthappa arrived at the international scene in the second half of the last decade, his attractive stroke-play and the wide array of shots made many believe the right-handed batsman would extend the Indian team’s legacy of producing world-class batsmen. An 86-run knock against England on debut only elevated those hopes.

The famous unbeaten knock of 47 off only 33 balls which helped India chase down the 300-plus total and seal a rousing win against England at the Oval further elevated his stature.

It was soon followed by more success, as he was an integral part of the Indian squad which won the World T20 in 2007. However, sooner rather than later his career graph started going in the wrong direction and he soon found himself out of the national side.

What further dent his chances of making it to the national team again was his lukewarm outings in the domestic arena?

However, the right-handed batsman enjoyed a breakthrough 2013-14 season, helping Karnataka complete a rare treble, as they won the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Uthappa followed that up with an outstanding IPL in 2014 and was soon recalled into the national team for the tour to Bangladesh for the ODI series in 2014.

Another highly successful season saw him getting another recall to the national team for the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe in July-August 2015, but his average outings saw him getting dropped from the team again and he is yet to receive another recall.

Now 32, Uthappa is very much out of the frame for the national selections. However, the World T20-winning star has not given up on hopes of donning the national jersey again. The fact he left a traditional powerhouse like Karnataka for Saurashtra to get more playing chance pretty much proves how determined he is to make another comeback to the Indian team and it is that very dream of playing for India which has kept him going.

“The dream of wanting to play for India keeps me going. The dream of wanting to win another world championship keeps me going. That’s a dream I believe I will achieve. I need to be lucky as well,” he told Cricbuzz.

Becoming a role model for his son is another driving force that has helped him to get going.

“I also want to be a good example to my son,” he said. “I want to inspire my son on certain levels. I want to be that father, if he ever reads about me or finds out about me, should be proud about how I’ve played my cricket, the kind of person I am on and off the field.”

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