Ranji Trophy: Slam-bang Arunachal Pradesh need to learn long-format temperament, says Techi Doria

CHANDIGARH: Techi Doria’s long, braided hair seem to be of a lead guitarist from one of the Northeast rock bands, but the Arunachal Pradesh all-rounder’s scores are all composed on the cricket pitch.
The 25-year-old Sachin Tendulkar fan wishes to be clicked with the god of cricket this Ranji Trophy season. After his side went down to debutants Chandigarh in their opener by an innings and 173 runs here on Wednesday, TOI caught up with him to discuss the team’s shortcomings.
Doria, who is from Nyopang village near his state capital Itanagar, has no hesitation in accepting that his side needs to develop the temperament and mental aspect for playing the longer format of the game.It is more used to playing slam-bang cricket.
He said: “There’s a big difference in the playing style and technique of the new teams such as Arunachal Pradesh and the experienced ones.
“Most of the Chandigarh side has played first-class cricket, so it fits into the four-day format easily. In our region, it is more of T20 or limited-overs cricket. We are working on mental and physical conditioning. It’s just the second season. Learning to occupy the crease will take some time but we will succeed. Next we play Mizoram, which is at the same level more or less.”
Doria, who looked cautious leaving deliveries outside the off stump during the second innings in the Sector-16 Cricket Stadium, hailed the quality of Chandigarh’s pace attack.
“In the Northeast, we aren’t used to facing 135-kilometre-per-hour deliveries, which is a handicap on tour, against bowlers who extract both pace and movement from the wickets. We don’t have the technique to read those variations. That is a challenge to accept and work on.”
Getting Manan
Doria, himself an aggressive batsman, was full of praise for the batting technique of Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra. On how he celebrated his dismissal, it said it was the delight of outsmarting an experienced campaigner. The Chandigarh captain had hit a century before opposite number Song Tacho caught him off Doria’s part-time leg spin.
The all-rounder said: “We knew Manan liked to play long innings. We tried to get him out cheaply but he bailed himself out. When the skipper tossed me the ball for a breakthrough, his eyes lit up and he went after me. He hit me for a few boundaries and then I foxed him with a quicker one. It felt good to have the last laugh.”
Inner voice
His father, Techi Sonia, is a farmer, and his mother, Techi Yania, is in the rural works department. Doria loves cricket since the age of 9 but thought of making it a career in 2014, against his family’s wishes.
Without any BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) affiliation, there was still no hope for budding cricketers of the state but it changed in 2018 for Doria and many other young cricketers.
In his own words: “I was playing serious cricket since 2014 but all for passion. At that time, the sport was in a nascent stage in my region, we had not imagined having a Ranji (Trophy) side. The BCCI affiliation to Arunachal Pradesh last season came as a surprise to many of us.”
It was his childhood dream to be a cricketer but his family had normal Indian middle-class expectations.
“Cricket dil se aataa hai...chhorega sochne se bhi nahi chhor paya (Cricket comes from the heart. You can’t leave it even if you think of doing so). People advised him that a Northeast cricketer had no future but a voice inside didn’t allow Doria to give up. “And then last year, we got the affiliation.” he added.
Beating monsoon
Highlighting the obstacles before cricketers from the Northeast hills, the right-hander said: “We need better indoor facilities in the region to beat the monsoon, when it rains from April to September.
“Unlike the other parts of the country, it is difficult to train and do practice in the Northeast, including Arunachal Pradesh. The rainy season over there is a bit longer than the rest of India. I have arranged for personal training outside my house. The infrastructure is basic but will improve with time.”
The side had to travel more than six hours to the pre-season Ranji Trophy camp in Assam’s Jorhat district, besides playing many home fixtures in the neighbouring state. Jorhat is about 130 kilometers from Itanagar. Accessibility is an issue.
“But we do have the advantage of high-altitude training, which most players prefer,” said the cricketer who trains more than 50 young guns in Itanagar and Naharlagun.
Sachin the idol
The all-rounder from the Nyishy main tribe of Arunachal Pradesh awaits his chance to meet the master blaster whose exploits inspired him to take up the sport.
Doria said: “For our generation, Sachin Tendulkar it is the god of cricket. On the field, he is incomparable but it’s his off-field humility that impresses me. I hope to get lucky this season and be able to meet my idol.”