I Was Certain I'd Make the Indian Team, Sooner or Later: Saransh Jain

33-year-old Saransh Jain earned his maiden India call-up for the upcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka on the back of consistent performances in domestic red-ball cricket. Speaking to JioStar, Saransh Jain reflected on the early days of his cricketing journey, how he found out about his selection to the Test squad, and his admiration for Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin.

I was heading towards the temple and was driving. That's when I checked my phone and saw around 10 to 12 missed calls and messages. One of my friends who plays cricket called me and congratulated me. I asked, 'For what? He said, 'Hey, the announcement...' I was surprised and replied, 'Does the official team announcement even happen this early in the morning?' He said, 'It's out! I'll send it to you.' I pulled my car over to the side, checked my phone, and yes, it was official. It was a fantastic feeling. It's the culmination of 26 years of hard work and discipline. When I got home, everyone was so emotional, my father, elder brother, wife, mom, everyone.

It was a shared dream for all of us, built on family sacrifices. It isn't easy to make it into the 15-member Indian squad among millions of people, so family support is vital. There were times when family issues happened where I could have broken down, but my family stood by me, managed everything, and stayed together. Because of them, I'm playing for India today. My dream was always to play Test cricket for India; right from the start, I've loved red-ball cricket. Now that the dream has come true, I'm extremely happy.

Age is definitely just a number, so 33 is just a number because of the fielding standards these days, which are so high that your age doesn't show on the field. I knew, if I hadn't made it into the Indian team today, I would have played in the next year or two, but I was certain I'd make it.

In the beginning, I used to go to the club with my dad and elder brother. My brother played with a leather ball, but I was very young, so I just went along to play with a tennis ball and hang around. As I grew older, I started playing with the leather ball and played at all the age-group levels. In 2014-15, I made my Ranji debut and took a five-wicket haul in my very first game against Tamil Nadu, a side which featured senior players like Dinesh Karthik. That made me realise cricket isn't as difficult if you put in hard work and are disciplined.

From then on, I knew if I wanted to play at a higher level, I had to focus on things which I can control. I kept doing that, and today I'm here representing India. Ever since my age-group days, my main weapon has been consistency, to be able to hit the same spot repeatedly because the batsman will eventually take a risk to score. I'm not overthinking how the pitches will behave in Sri Lanka or how many wickets I'll get; I just want to stick to my basics.

I started playing cricket because of my father, who is a former Ranji player himself. I play cricket for him, and he is my ultimate idol. As for bowling, Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin are my idols. While I haven't spoken to them extensively, I've learned a massive amount just by watching their bowling clips.

During the one-week camp at the Centre of Excellence, I learned a lot from Harbhajan Singh. Skill-wise, they told me I didn't need major tweaks since I already have plenty of match experience. But one piece of advice from him really stuck with me, "You don't have to lose something to gain something. You have to put in the work.' That stayed with me, and whenever I push myself through hard work, those words resonate deeply.