Anshuman Rath, who has represented and captained Hong Kong in international cricket, will play for Odisha in this year’s domestic season. The 23-year old has Oriya parents and is set to play after serving a one-year cooldown period.
The wicketkeeper-opener has played 18 ODIs and 20 T20Is for Hong Kong. He has played three first-class (five) matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which was awarded first-class status.
The youngster said that he was looking forward to playing for Odisha this year.
"The Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) has been warm and players are very friendly. I am looking forward to representing Orissa this year. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, I think in Hong Kong I was very comfortable. I really wanted to play in a challenging environment that is very professional and what better place than India for that," Anshuman Rath said to Cricbuzz.
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The opener has played in the 2015 T20 WC qualifier in Ireland and Scotland, ICC World Cricket League (in which he was the highest run-scorer), ICC inter-continental cup, World Cricket League Division Two and has also taken part in the 2018 World Cup (ODIs) qualifiers.
Wasim Jaffer, Odisha's new head coach refused to comment on Rath saying it would be unfair to talk about a particular player, especially for a new coach. OCA secretary Sanjay Behera was happy that Rath joined the team.
"We normally don't have professionals but we think Anshuman is our own," Sanjay Behera said.
Rath is currently playing in Odisha's Inter-District Championship in Bhubaneswar and has completed the NOC and other transfer formalities to play in this year's India domestic season.
He explained why he left international cricket to play in the Indian domestic circuit.
"I am grateful to Hong Kong Cricket for the opportunities but I wanted to push myself. Associate cricket has its limitation, the facilities, exposure, and resources are limited. I've soon realized that I cannot achieve my goal of playing Test cricket by being in Hong Kong. That is why I have moved to India. Playing in the country of my parents is also a matter of pride for me," he said.
(With Cricbuzz inputs)
