Andhra captain Ricky Bhui believes current Ranji Trophy edition has been a ‘breakthrough season’ for him

Ricky Bhui has featured in first-class cricket for a decade, but the Andhra captain believes the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy has been a ‘breakthrough season’ for him.

The 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has been a standout performer in the tournament till now, amassing 861 runs and emerging as the top-scorer in Elite Group. Leading from the front, he has also played a key role in guiding Andhra to the knockouts.

“I always thought that I needed a breakthrough season. People often told me that with so many skills, I have not been able to justify my talent. I have realised that as a middle-order batter in India, you have to keep getting runs,” Bhui told  Sportstar on Wednesday.

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“Over the last couple of years, Sarfaraz (Khan) kept piling runs, and eventually, his hard work paid off. Likewise, my target has been to keep batting and keep getting runs. I think this has been that breakthrough season for me so far,” he added.

When Andhra faces Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium on Friday, it will be a rematch of last year’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, where the latter had the last laugh. “I have already told the team that we need to overcome this mental barrier and not think about what happened last year. Last year, the teams were different, the circumstances were different, and now, things are completely different,” Bhui said.

When the tournament started in January, Bhui wasn’t Andhra’s captain. But as Hanuma Vihari relinquished captaincy a day before its group league game against Mumbai, Bhui had to step up. Barring a few early hiccups, it has been quite a campaign for the side, and Bhui believes that clarity of roles has helped the players perform freely.

“Initially, it was surprising that Vihari stepped down as the captain. But now, as I look at it, it has been good for the team because we needed him more as a batter. Eventually, I did not find it that tough because this team has been playing together for a while now. The core team has been together for the last five to six seasons, so it hasn’t been tough to get used to the new role,” he said. 

“The team has also accepted me nicely, and eventually, they know their roles, so it hasn’t been tough. Even Vihari has helped me on the ground in making those tough decisions, so it has been a smooth ride so far…”

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Early in his career, Bhui was often labelled as a T20 specialist, but over the years, he worked hard on his batting to change the perception. “People initially thought that I was a power-hitting batter since my U-19 days. But playing with Mohammed Kaif and Vihari helped me understand quite a few things about red-ball cricket. Vihari has been an inspiration, and certainly, he has helped me a lot in understanding which deliveries to face and which ones to leave,” he said.

Slowly, he worked on improving his game and the result is evident now. 

“For me, it has been about unlocking my game. I made the bowlers bowl from a shorter distance and played on different surfaces in Visakhapatnam and those things eventually helped me,” the Andhra captain said. 

“Playing on different surfaces gave me [some] extra time to judge the ball and boosted my confidence that I won’t give away my wicket easily…”

Three centuries and as many fifty-plus scores in the tournament is a testament to his hard work and determination.