Shiv Sunder Das has been left out of the Indian one-day squad that will play in the triangular series with Zimbabwe and West Indies but the diminutive opener is hardly complaining.

With the best average and highest run aggregate in the Test series against Zimbabwe, the technically sound Das has certainly proved his mettle on fast and bouncy tracks too.

And as he leaves for India today, Das has already identified the areas he needs to work upon ahead of the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa.

"I need to improve upon my backlift. I will be practicing on cement wickets with plastic balls," said the affable Das in an interview to PTI.

Das realises the importance of hard work and extensive practice and before coming to Zimbabwe, he had practiced playing outgoing deliveries and learnt from the experiences of his seniors.

"I practiced a lot about the deliveries leaving outside the off-stump. I also practiced how not to play on the rise and I spoke a lot to seniors like Sourav (Ganguly) and Rahul (Dravid) in the Chennai camp (ahead of the tour)," he says.

The preparations paid rich dividends as Das notched up 239 runs from four innings at an average of 79.67 with a highest score of 82 not out. The effort got him the man of the series award in just his third Test series.

Success did not come easily to him, though. Das admitted he had difficulty in putting all his preparations into practice straightaway and he struggled in the first few innings in the tour matches.

"I really struggled in the first game of the tour at Mutare. I didn't play well. I realised I was not really moving my feet in line with the ball. I corrected it and the hundred against CFX Academy (in the next game) really gave me confidence," he said.

Such constant reviews of his performance have helped Das in improving his already solid technique which many experts believe is similar to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. Das most certainly is the first genuine Test opener for India after Gavaskar left the scene in 1987.

And he echoes the master batsman when he says, "As an opener, you must watch for balls outside the off-stump all the time. You must know where your off-stump is."

He certainly knew where his off-stump was on this tour with home captain Heath Streak saying that only if the other Indian batsmen had emulated Das, India would have put up a much better fight in the second Test that the visitors lost by four wickets to see their dreams of a series win being dashed.

"Das was among the few Indian batsmen who showed the patience required on wickets with a little bit of extra bounce. He knew exactly where his off-stump was and he didn't play unnecessary shots. And the reward was there for him," Streak said.

Das says he has acquired the correct technique while playing on uneven surfaces in Orissa. "Playing on matting wicket at home has really helped. For one, it has helped me play bouncing deliveries well. It has also improved my backfoot play which is essential for an opener," Das said.

Das still had some problems against the rising deliveries during the home series against Australia when he took a lot of body blows from the pace battery of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming.

"I was having a few problems against the Australians. When the ball was bouncing, I was not watching the ball, but later I think I played them well. Getting runs against the likes of McGrath, Gillespie and (Shane) Warne was really encouraging," he said.

The patience which he has displayed in his batting is evident in his overall approach to the game and future plans too as he dismisses suggestions that he was prone to getting out just when he seemed to be set.

"I may have missed out on hundreds, but they were not bad efforts. The big hundreds will come. After all I have played just seven Test matches," said Das, whose only Test hundred came in the second match in the home series against Zimbabwe last year.

Keen to contribute something more than the runs he scores, Das has taken some brilliant catches at forward short leg, a position he specialises in while fielding. "I just love fielding. I used to do a lot of catching when I was a kid. I was inspired to stand in this position because of a few outstanding catches I have seen being taken in that position, I get hit sometimes but it doesn't deter me," he said.

His captain Sourav Ganguly was all praise for him but said Das should now be ready to handle the growing expectations of his fans. "The pressure will now begin for him. People will start expecting runs from him, every time he goes in. It will altogether be a different pressure," Ganguly said.

But physical and mental toughness is something Das has acquired right from his childhood. "It's because things don't happen easily in Orissa. You don't get things easy out there. It makes you very tough, physically and mentally," he said.

© PTI