Glad where life has taken me in 13 years of first-class cricket, says Abhinav Mukund

13 years and 143 first-class matches later, Mukund is no longer the 'baby' in WV Raman's Tamil Nadu side back in the day. And his evolution into a senior pro has been a journey of ups and downs, but the 30-year-old is happy with how his career has turned out. 

“To be honest, every season has been a challenge. From 17 years old you're just playing cricket, then by 21-22 you're thinking how you're probably going to be playing for your country. And you think why you're not playing for the country. I think that's a journey in itself. And I'm glad I've been aware of my journey - where life has taken me in this 13th year as a first-class cricketer,” Mukund told ESPNCricinfo.

“It has been a natural progression. Getting to 100 Ranji games or 10,000 first-class runs - I still haven't got to 10,000 yet - is something that does not happen overnight and it has taken a while. I hadn't imagined that this would happen when I played my first game. It's actually a good feeling,” he said. 

Recently, though, Mukund has taken a bit of liking into doing cricket commentary when he is not playing for his state team. This, he reveals, has given him a fresh and more objective perspective on his game.

“Yes, it has given a different perspective. When you're playing, you think only about winning the game. Here, you are looking at both teams objectively and trying to figure out what they're doing to outwit each other. I've always felt it has given me an edge because I'm passionate about the game and even sitting at home I've called games with my parents or my wife,” he said.

Coming off of an excellent white-ball season, where they finished runners-up to Karnataka in the one-dayer and T20 domestic tournaments — the Vijay Hazare tournament and the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament respectively — but the form has taken a significant dip in the red-ball format. 

“With the domestic season being so cramped, it does require time to adjust from white-ball to red-ball cricket. These are different balls - one swings a lot more than the other. Red-ball cricket is more about patience and more awareness about conditions. I've played league cricket with these (younger) guys at home and I know for a fact that they're willing to put in the hard yards,” he noted.

“Winning the Ranji Trophy: it's important that everyone has that goal in mind. If we can move on and make the knockouts, probably winning is the goal. I'm sure these are good lessons for that,” Mukund added.