Laxmi Ratan Shukla

Calcutta: Laxmi Ratan Shukla was modesty personified in his hour of glory, as he gave full credit of Kalighat’s stellar performance this season — a clean sweep of five trophies — to his teammates. But according to his opponents, it was captain Shukla who made all the difference.

Accepting the fact that he had an outstanding season, Shukla said the all-round performance of his teammates made the dream, of winning all five trophies, come true.

“My team supported me in everything I wanted to do… It was not about me only. All my experiments paid off… It was possible because of every individual’s performance,” Shukla told The Telegraph on Sunday.

However, Ranadeb Bose, who played for Sporting Union in the just-concluded season, identified Shukla as the man who made the difference.

“In the Kalighat team, Laxmi did the job of 10 men while the others’ did the job of the 11th man. I am very sorry to say this… But this is the reality,” Bose said. “He has been the only difference… He is being very consistent and every time his team was in danger, he rescued them.”

Bengal pacer Shib Shankar Paul shared Bose’s thoughts. “Every time Kalighat were 10 for three or something like that, Laxmi would bail them out of trouble,” Paul, who played for East Bengal, said.

Both Bose and Paul pointed out that Kalighat also had a better side than all other clubs this season. “Kalighat were a far better side. Both their batting and bowling was well balanced… Frankly speaking, Sporting had a very ordinary team,” Bose said.

Shukla, who dreams of a recall to the Indian squad after his brilliant performance in the domestic season and the inaugural IPL, said it was hard work coupled with planning that made Kalighat a better team.

“Best team is made by best performance. Lot of hard work has gone into it. You can dream of winning five trophies, but the hunger to win made it possible,” the Bengal Ranji captain said. Shukla also said he would like to see Sourashish Lahiri, Charanjeet Singh, Avik Chowdhury, Ranbeer Nath, Sanjib Goel and Sanjib Sanyal to be included in Bengal’s Ranji team this season.

“They have proved their worth… I will definitely want them in the team,” he said.