Seeking better opportunities, Robin Bist switches to Himachal Pradesh

Bist feels that the mess after suspension has left the future of players hanging by a thread. (Source: File)

Rajasthan middle-order batsman Robin Bist has obtained the NOC from the Indian board and will turn out for Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming domestic season. Bist, who started playing cricket in Delhi during his age-group days moved to Rajasthan for better opportunities ten years back but is not happy with the current state of affairs in the state.

Moments after Lalit Modi was elected the president in 2014, BCCI suspended the Rajasthan Cricket Association for allowing a ‘banned individual’ to be a part of the set-up. Bist feels that the mess after suspension has left the future of players hanging by a thread and affected the cricket, across age-groups and formats, in the state.

“All states are either in between their pre-season camp or done with it. We (in Rajasthan) don’t even know whether we would play this year or not. It was the same last year. Our camp started mid-September, and one-dayers were on us by October. It left us with very little preparation time,” says Bist. “We couldn’t even participate in the Buchi Babu (tournament) due to this.”

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The right-hander feels even after scoring ‘tons of runs’ for the side, he never got the backing and push he deserved from the association. Bist entered the elite 1000-run club in the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy season but has only one India ‘A’ outing to his name.

“I have scored 1000 runs in a season, so have KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav. You can see the difference here itself. They are playing for the senior team and I have got only one innings for India ‘A’. You can see how much backing I have got from the association. Had everything been in order, Rajasthan could have been what the Karnataka side is right now — invincible,” says Bist, who has signed a two-year deal with his new state side.

About to turn 28, Bist has set himself a goal to make the cut within the next two years (by 30) and feels it’s important to be a part of a set-up where a player gets due credit and opportunities for the hard work he puts in throughout the year.

“I aspire to play for the country and the next two years are very crucial for my career. You know what happens to a cricketer in our country as soon as he turns 30,” said the batsman. “I don’t want to waste these two years in confusion and suspense, and want to give my best shot and do what I did for Rajasthan in the past — score plenty of runs. Every player wants to take their game to the next level. I don’t just want to play Ranji cricket. Even I want to get fair shot at playing in the IPL, ‘A’ tours.”

So what made him choose Himachal? Bist laughs at the question, as everyone has asked him the same question thanks to the fact that the state’s board is run by BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur.

“Himachal have been doing really well over the last 2-3 years and have players breaking into the ‘A’, U-19 and senior squads. Rishi Dhawan, Paras Dogra, Ankush Bains, all have been doing a great job. At the end of the day, I need to score runs,” he said, before adding, “Even Anurag Thakur ji won’t push for players scoring a duck or performing poorly.”