When Sachin Tendulkar's Bombay side was smashing every other team in the West Zone by beating them outright in the Ranji league in 1993-94, Atul Bedade was quietly making a name for himself as a pinch hitter. Even in the longer version of the game, his strike rate was over 100%. Against Bombay, his 133 runs came in 112 balls, against Saurashtra, 81 in 67 balls, and against Maharashtra 122 in 92 balls. He was promptly selected to play for India, as a pinch hitter in the middle order. With only one innings of over 50 from 12 Matches and 10 innings, he was dropped from the Team. An immediate illness prevented him from taking part fully in the next season domestics. He is looking forward to getting back to the Indian squad.
Bedade replaced Sidhu who was expected to play for India in the Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes. When our interviewer Rohan Chandran was showing Atul the Hong Kong Sixes pages in CricInfo, Atul's name was missing in the squad information. Atul jokingly remarked that he will go back to India if the information in CricInfo was not updated immediately! Hard working volunteers of CricInfo averted major disaster by handling the situation in an adroit manner, thereby enabling India to field a stronger team for the Sixes!
nidus: Atul: may I suggest you try opening the innings in OD matches so you can hit over the top. What do you think?
Bedade: Yeah, I am thinking seriously about opening. I have started doing it for my company - Sachin [Tendulkar] is my captain there.
nidus: Great!
Bedade: So two of us open. Vinod kambli is there too. Also, Salil Ankola, Nayan Mongia, Venky Raju. Am thinking very seriously about opening. Now-a-days the place is very vacant. If you score runs anywhere, you will get in.
nidus: looking forward to seeing you in opening slot!
WGG: Are you looking forward to displaying your bowling prowess in the 6's?
Bedade: Yeah, sure... I had a very good record in the Super 8's in Malaysia recently.
Bedade: Hang on a second. We are checking up my average in the 1994 West Indies one-day series. Average was 77, and I was dropped immediately after that! Then I got injured.
And I have been away from cricket for a long time. Just started in January, I am doing well, I hope I will come back into the team - with your good wishes! and blessing!
nidus: Atul: any fast bowlers in Indian domestic competition worth watching for?
Bedade: All the fast bowlers worth watching are in Canada. 7 players from Karnataka there. Johsnon, Venaktesh and Srinath are the medium pacers. And Salil is here with us. No one else there really. Long way to go.
mohan: Atul: Do you think you can make it back to Indian team now, with so many middle order bats around?
Bedade: I'll try my level best - because I was injured, last season I played hardly one match. I'll start again and you will see the result and I will give you back!
mohan: Thanks Atul. Will be looking forward to see you at your hard-hitting best.
Bedade: haha.. you've surrendered already :-) I believe in myself. I don't want to watch anybody because I don't have any coach or anything.
ddyte: Do you find it difficult batting overseas, after the comparatively easy batting conditions afforded to players in India?
Bedade: Now-a-days, the wickets are getting similar if you go anywhere.
Ravi: Atul: Your innings against Pakistan in 1994 Australasia cup was superb... Eventhough we lost, that innings stand out in my memory forever... Thanks a lot.
mohan: Atul: do you think we have finally broken the decade long Pak jinx?
Bedade: No, not yet. there are two more matches to go yet!
Bedade: Last match, we won because of good bowling and a bad wicket! You require courage to bat on such wickets. To play in front of 50,000 people takes courage
mohan: Yes. but we seem to be winning more often now than we ever did in the past 10 years.
wz: Atul: can you name some promising fast bowlers not in the Indian side currently?
Bedade: Abey Kuruvilla is there. He is under the shadow of Srinath and all, just like when Srinath was under Kapil.
Date-stamped : 07 Oct1998 - 04:33