Not long ago, Abhinav Mukund walked up to a national selector to exchange pleasantries. All he got in response to his greeting though was an obligatory “Hello” and an empty stare. It was clear to Abhinav that the selector, who’s no longer part of the panel now, had absolutely no clue who he was. So, the Tamil Nadu opener proceeded to introduce himself. The name ‘Abhinav Mukund’ did seem to ring a bell with the selector and he immediately said with an all-knowing nod, “Oh yes, I have your name on my laptop somewhere.”
For the record, Abhinav had become the first Indian batsman to score a first-class century while facing a pink ball only a week earlier in the Duleep Trophy. But somehow here he was being slighted by one of the five men he would expect to have taken notice. In a way though the anecdote sums up Abhinav’s career ever since he slipped out of the cricket-public consciousness following a brief fling with Test cricket nearly six years ago.
