Twenty five years ago, when Paras Dogra started his first-class career for Himachal Pradesh, little did he imagine that he would close in on 10,000 runs in his career and would be regarded as one of the stalwarts of domestic cricket.
Back then, he did not even think of moving out of Himachal ever; but over the last seven years, he has been a journeyman cricketer – representing Pondicherry and now Jammu and Kashmir as a professional cricketer. And his long and illustrious journey has taught him how to handle a team and bring the best out of youngsters.
As the captain of J&K, he has done just that. Instead of playing the tough taskmaster, Dogra’s elder-brotherly approach has worked wonders for the team, which now dreams of reaching its maiden semifinal in the Ranji Trophy.
“Initially I took time to understand their mindset. I played the Buchi Babu Trophy with the team, spent more time and slowly learned their nature, and also how to make them understand who has to be dealt with nicely or who should be dealt with a bit strictly,” Dogra said. “So, these small things mattered because every player has a different nature…”
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And, throughout the season, this mindset has proved beneficial to the team as it went on to beat top teams like Mumbai and Baroda on their home turf to make it to the quarterfinals as the table-topper from Group A.
While it took him quite long to score his first century of the season, he did not lose hope when things weren’t going smoothly. And that’s also something he tells his bowlers when they try hard to find breakthroughs. “Patience is the main thing. It’s all about bowling in a good area and playing with the patience of a batter,” he said, admitting that at times it’s difficult to convey that sort of patience to the younger bowlers.
“They rush for the wickets because they want results as well. And I tell them to relax and just be patient. Let the things come to you. So, just do your good work and just believe in God,” he said.