Hazare Trophy | Man in form — Mann finds a second lease on cricket in Himachal Pradesh colours

When Pukhraj Mann travelled to Chennai in August last year to feature in the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament for Punjab, little did he know that the tournament would play a decisive role in his career.

Amid cut-throat competition for a spot in the Punjab team, things worsened for Mann as he suffered an injury during the event. Unsure about his future plans, Mann consulted some of his seniors and made the toughest decision of his life — moving to Himachal Pradesh just before the season started.

With VRV Singh as the head coach, Mann slowly got into the groove and, overcoming the teething troubles, proved himself with 272 runs in five matches of the Ranji Trophy. He followed it up with a stellar performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, becoming the highest run-getter for Himachal (558 runs in six games).

“After I got injured during the Buchi Babu tournament, I was a little confused in terms of whether I would be able to play properly for (Punjab) again, and that’s why I decided to take up this opportunity with Himachal. I had to take this risk,” he told The Hindu.

Having played age-group cricket for Punjab, Mann broke into the State’s senior team three years ago. But with intense competition, he was in and out of the team. He, however, is happy to have played his bit for the new team. “In cricket, there is nothing like a small team or a big team. But I am happy with the way things are going,” he said.

In the Hazare Trophy, Mann scored three centuries — against Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa — and also remained consistent against Punjab and Mumbai. However, Himachal failed to finish a few close games. Mann is hopeful that his team will be more clinical in the future.