It is a great opportunity for me: Dasgupta

Wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta, the lone new face in the Indian team for the forthcoming tour of South Africa, said the series would provide a great opportunity to prove his worth at the highest level of the game.

"It is indeed a great opportunity for a youngster like me to play for the country. It is a dream come true. I have to make the best of it," Dasgupta said over phone from Hyderabad, where he is currently playing for Bengal in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup cricket tournament.

The 24-year-old Dasgupta said he was expecting a call to the national team for quite some time and it was a "fantastic feeling" to be selected.

"I had been in contention for some time. But now that I have been selected, it is a totally different feeling. In some way, I was expecting it," a jubilant Dasgupta said.

The Bengal keeper got the news of his selection from his father soon after the team was announced in Bombay on Friday afternoon.

"My dad called me up from Calcutta and gave me the news. I cannot express what I felt," he said.

Asked whether the presence of statemate and skipper Sourav Ganguly would be an advantage, Dasgupta said: "Having Sourav around will be an inspiration. Obviously, it will help me because he knows me well as we play for the same state."

On whether he is mentally prepared to make his debut for the country in an arduous tour like South Africa, Dasgupta said, "It is going to be a challenge. You have to grab the opportunities when they come. I am looking forward to the trip."

Dasgupta, who has been playing first class cricket for the past three years, said he had no plans to celebrate his selection, but would rather prefer to start the mental preparation.

"My mind is in South Africa already. I want to prepare well for the tour. Being mentally focussed is very important," he said.

Dasgupta's selection to the team has come as a reward for hard work and consistency in the domestic scene for the last few years.

An aggressive right-handed batsman, Dasgupta had been in the reckoning for selection for a year or so but could not break into the squad. Sameer Dighe's rather poor performance in Sri Lanka facilitated his selection.

The diminutive cricketer, who began to learn the ropes from Sports Authority of India coach Sunita Sharma at New Delhi's National stadium, plays for Mohun Bagan club in local tournaments in Calcutta. He is a regular member of the Bengal team for the last one-and-a-half year and has taken over the wicketkeeper's job from Saba Karim.

He began his first class career with Ballygunge Sporting Club and graduated to bigger clubs with a series of impressive performances with the glove as well as the willow.

Mail Cricket Editor