Ranjib Biswal. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Former India Under-19 skipper Ranjib Biswal does not regret his decision to retire from the game at an age of 27.

“I had done exceedingly well in domestic cricket and was the highest wicket-taker for the two consecutive years. However, I was not selected for the national team. My cricket was not taking me anywhere, so I called it quits,” said Biswal who now heads the Orissa Cricket Association.

Same is the case with Biswal’s politics. The loss from Kendrapara in the last Lok Sabha election does not bother him much.

He has taken the defeat in his stride.

For the son of late Basant Kumar Biswal, the man who came to be known as “super CM” in the early 80’s when J.B. Patnaik was chief minister of the state, “har fikr ko dhuen mein udata chala gaya” (I used to take things easily) seems to be the ideology of life.

Doing fairly well as a cricket administrator, at present, Biswal is focusing on improving standards of the game in the state, especially at the Ranji-level. However, he seems to have a bigger challenge at hand — the World Cup — for which he has been appointed manager of the Indian cricket team.

Having been manager of the national side several times in the past, Biswal shares a good rapport with the players — be it senior cricketers such as, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman or the younger ones such as, Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli.

“I have been accustomed with the senior players such as, Sachin, Laxman, Dravid and Kumble, since my childhood. I tell the youngsters that they should never overstep the lakshman rekha. Getting respect from everyone in the team makes my job easier,” he said.

Apart from his rock-steady affair with cricket, Biswal has donned many other hats.

As the editor of a local vernacular daily and a full-time politician, Biswal has established himself as a genuine all-rounder off the field as well. “Apart from cricket, I also afford time for my newspaper, meet people of my constituency and look into their needs. However, until the World Cup gets over, my first priority would be cricket,” he said.

Married to Anita Mohanty, the daughter of a Manchester-based NRI doctor, for nearly eight years, Biswal said marriage had brought stability in his life.

“I met her at a wedding in Bhubaneswar. The match was fixed after my father had spoke to her parents,” he said.

Biswal remains optimistic about India’s chances of repeating the 1983 feat. “Our team has a good blend of young and experienced players.

Akin to Kapil Dev’s victorious World Cup squad of 1983, we have a lot of all-rounders. The advantage with some matches to be played in India would be crowd support and familiarity with conditions. This is probably the best chance for us to bring home the cup,” he said.