Anshuman Rath quits being Hong Kong skipper to play for India cricket team
Anshuman Rath stepped down from being Hong Kong’s skipper to pursue his dream to play cricket for India one day. The Indian-origin batsman made himself unavailable for the selection to try his luck in the Indian first-class setup.
‘I would like to thank Cricket Hong Kong for everything that they have done for me over the years. It has been a very enjoyable ride with them since the age of 12 but I believe it is time to move on’, he said.
'I wish the players and support staff all the best and I will be keeping a close eye on their future endeavours’ he added.
Rath can apply for the IPL team as a draft team member. He has an average of 51.75 from 15 ODI matches. He holds a score of 391 runs at an average of over 65 in 9 First-Class innings.
When the left-handed batsman was asked if he wants to play for India team someday, he said, ‘that is the end goal yes, absolutely’.
‘In the first instance, however, this opportunity provides a chance to train and play full-time in a fully-professional system, with the added incentive down the line of potentially playing Test cricket’.
‘This has always been my dream, and the false start to my chance in the English system resulted in me taking a good look at all my options’, he added.
After making his ODI debut five years ago, Rath finally decided that it’s time to move on. Despite having an Indian passport, Rath has to stay in India for a year to qualify for the Ranji Trophy.
He said that staying in India won't be a difficult job for him since he is still very much connected to his roots.
‘See, I hail from Odisha and was a regular visitor to Bhubaneswar to see my grandmother who stays there and we are very much connected to our roots. I have always been proud of my Odisha roots and that is one of my prime motivation as I won’t feel out of place’.
Cricket Hong Kong’s High-Performance Manager thanked Rath for his contributions in cricket.
‘Cricket Hong Kong would like to thank Anshuman for his outstanding contribution over his many years representing Hong Kong and wish him well for his future endeavours’.
Hong Kong cricket team’s next match is a 5-nation series in the T20I format. The series will take place in Oman.
T20I is the shortest format of cricket. To more about the different formats of the sport, read articles on Betwala.
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