IND vs WI: Deepak Hooda has a point to prove
Since leaving Baroda after alleging "bullying" by skipper Krunal Pandya, Hooda has done wonders for Rajasthan, resulting in his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI squad
If Deepak Hooda’s maiden ODI call-up for the home series against West Indies – starting February 6 – was a bolt from the blue on Wednesday night, it is all the more startling once you cast your mind back to events a year ago. In January 2021, Hooda had walked out of the Baroda team’s bio-bubble on the eve of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after making allegations against skipper Krunal Pandya of “bullying” and using “abusive language”.
Hooda sent an e-mail to Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) saying “I am demoralised, depressed and under pressure...I (have) never faced such bad behaviour by a team captain. In view of the above facts, I am unable to play and perform to my best.”
Baroda didn’t take kindly to Hooda’s outburst, banning him for the entire season for walking out just before a tournament and putting “himself above the team”. The future of the 26-year-old all-rounder – a middle-order batter who bowls off-spin – seemed bleak.
Six months later, Hooda decided to sever ties with Baroda after eight years with the state team and move to Rajasthan for a fresh beginning. Since then, his career has blossomed. He finished the 2021/22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as the tournament’s second highest run-getter with 294 runs in 6 matches at an average of 73.5 and strike rate of 168. It included four half-centuries and as many as 17 sixes – the second most in the tournament.
His Vijay Hazare campaign wasn’t quite as successful, but his last innings was a knock of 109 in a total of 199 against Karnataka. He also made an impact in IPL 2021 with Punjab Kings, producing a few useful cameos for a struggling outfit, aside from a 28-ball 64 in their opening game against Rajasthan Royals.
The fall-out with Krunal and parting of ways with Baroda seems to have spurred Hooda on to prove a point.
“Hooda approached us and was desperate to just play cricket," said Rajasthan head coach Nikhil Doru, recalling his first meeting with the player. "The attitude with which he came, it seemed like he wanted to prove something. He played the entire season for Rajasthan with that mindset. I definitely sensed that he was playing for us with the aim of making it into the Indian set-up.”
A new purpose
If Hooda had problems with the environment in the Baroda dressing room, in Rajasthan, he was all in.
“He just wanted a good atmosphere to play his cricket, which we gave him," Doru, 43, said. "Even on our off days, he used to call me up and ask for extra batting practice.”
During those additional hours in the nets, Hooda’s focus was on improving his off-side repertoire.
"His work with me was on improving his off-side game," Doru said. "He felt he was being limited by teams because he used to predominantly play on the leg side. He has now as many hitting options on the off-side as leg-side.”
Barely a few weeks into playing for Rajasthan, Hooda was elevated to the captaincy for the Vijay Hazare Trophy once an injury to regular skipper Ashok Menaria ruled him out of the tournament. His prolific returns in the Mushtaq Ali meet convinced the selectors that he could lead by example.
“He takes the team along. He is playing the role of a senior figure at Rajasthan,” said Doru.
Hooda’s ODI call-up – he had been included in a T20I squad for a series against Sri Lanka in 2017 – only vindicates his move to Rajasthan as well as the backing that former India and Baroda all-rounder Irfan Pathan provided right through the episode.
When the youngster left Baroda, Pathan tweeted: “How many cricket associations will lose out on a player who is in the Indian probables? Hooda leaving Baroda cricket is a huge loss. He could have easily given his services for another ten years as he is still young. It’s utterly disappointing!”
Pathan is elated now, having played the role of mentor to Hooda over the past 12 months. “You came out of a tough phase, you kept fighting, kept performing. So proud! Make the most of it,” Pathan said on Twitter on Thursday.
If Hooda gets a chance to prove himself in the playing XI against West Indies, it will be the perfect conclusion to a remarkable turnaround.
