Return of the prodigal all-rounder: Dutta at Nehru Stadium on Thursday. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

Guwahati, June 5: Having spent the last season in the wilderness on grounds of fitness, form and attitude, the seasoned Gautam Dutta appears determined to make the most of the lifeline offered by the Assam Cricket Association to resurrect his chequered first-class career.

One of the best left-arm medium pacers to have ever played for Assam and East Zone, the gifted but mercurial Dutta was yesterday named in the list of 23 for the pre-season Buchi Babu and Moin-ud-Dowla meets. Also named were two other equally-talented players, Parag Das and Zaved Zaman, who, too, had a forgettable season.

Dutta, who has been playing first-class cricket since 1989, is Assam’s highest wicket-taker (136 in 44 Ranji matches). He led the state for two seasons and was part of several junior India and East Zone teams.

However, ACA watchers feel that Dutta failed to make the big league because of his laid back nature. “A well-written script went horribly wrong in the end,” is what is said about the talent.

The 29-year-old Dutta, however, appears keen to wipe out this perception, as was evident from his presence at the Nehru Stadium today.

“A lot of things have been said about my nature and cricket but then there is a thing called destiny. I was not considered last season but I have taken it in my stride. It is the past and I am looking forward to being part of the senior team. I am also thankful to the ACA for giving me an opportunity to prove myself,” he said.

Dutta, who can swing the ball both ways and has a very deceptive slower one, said after playing for so long and performing with distinction he is at a loss why people talk about his fitness. “This does not mean that I am casual. I go to the gym and train on my own. I have always played cricket the hard way and never shied away from challenges. I have even bowled in the sweltering heat of Barabati stadium despite being down with fever (103 degrees centigrade). The bottomline as far as I am concerned is performance. If I do not perform, I do not deserve to be in the team. It is as simple as that,” he observed.

Experts observe that having started in an era (1986) when the stress was more on talent than on fitness, the all-rounder is finding hard to adjust to the new and demanding physical regimen. ACA insiders say they have an open mind on Dutta, who has the ability to turn a match on its head either with the bowling or lusty hits. “But it is up to him to grab the opportunity. He should understand it,” one of them said.

An ONGC official, Dutta, however, is at the moment only looking forward to making a comeback.

“Everything depends on how things turn out this season. Making a strong comeback is what I am concerned about as of now,” he said.