Former skipper of Hong Kong national team, Anshuman Rath, is all set to represent Odisha in the forthcoming 2021-22 season of Indian domestic cricket.
The southpaw has played as many as 18 One-Day Internationals (ODIS) and 20 T20I matches for Hong Kong. The Odisha born player, who is a holder of Indian passport, has completed the mandatory one-year-long cooling-off period that makes him eligible to feature as a local player under BCCI’s ambit.
“I just wanted to come out of my comfort zone and play cricket in India where I can really sharpen my skill,” said Rath.
“I was born in Bhubaneswar and I can speak Odia. So, it was a logical decision to play for Odisha,” he said.
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Currently, Rath is playing Inter-District matches in Bhubaneswar. He has set an aim to represent Odisha Ranji team and play as a local player in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rath had led Hong Kong in Asia Cup in UAE in 2018 where he nearly pulled off an upset against formidable India. In a valiant chase, Hong Kong rode on a brilliant half-century by Rath (73) to give a stiff reply to India’s challenging score of 286. However, they were eventually restricted to 259/8.
Anshuman has notched up a total of 828 runs in ODIs including a ton and seven half-centuries. He has also taken 14 wickets. He decided to step away from his career with Hong Kong after the country lost its ODI status in 2018.
(Edited by Pradeep Singh)