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'Ganguly arranged for my stay at Eden Gardens': After India A call-up, bowler recalls struggle with 'malnourishment'
The uncapped bowler received his maiden India A call-up for the four-day games against New Zealand.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India A squad for the upcoming three four-day games against New Zealand. While Priyank Panchal was named the captain of the side, there were three uncapped call-ups in the side -- Tilak Varma, Yash Dayal, and Mukesh Kumar. The squad also features the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna, all of whom have rich international experience.
Mukesh was rewarded for his consistent performances for Bengal in the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy season. In five matches, he took 20 wickets at an average of 24.75, ending as Bengal's leading wicket-taking pacer.
Hailing from Gopalgunj in Bihar, Mukesh made Kolkata his adopted home and had faced enormous struggles during the initial years of his playing career. In fact, at one point, Mukesh was also found to be malnourished as he didn't have proper diet which was difficult to arrange for his father, who had by then got three of his four daughters married.
"I was youngest of the six but we had severe financial problems. It was Rano (Ranadeep Bose, bowling coach), who spoke to then CAB secretary Sourav Ganguly, who arranged for my stay at Eden Gardens and my diet was taken care of," Mukesh revealed in an interview with PTI.
Mukesh has 100 first-class wickets from 27 matches and has been representing Bengal since 2015. The 28-year-old was picked as one of the net bowlers for Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2022 Indian Premier League too.
"With Mukesh, we know that bulk of his wickets will be from top five and not tail-enders. He has tremendous control with both new and old ball," said Bengal's assistant coach Sourasish Lahiri.
Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy stadium will host the first and the third red-ball games, while the second match will take place at Hubli's Rajnagar stadium.
Chennai's MA Chidambaram stadium will host the three one-day games, squad for which will be announced later.
