After the hard work, the reward

Sparkling Ranji debuts earn Suyal and Mishra IPL contracts with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, respectively. Life has changed at an exponential pace for Delhi's Pawan Suyal and Vikas Mishra over the past few months. Firstly, they both played their debut seasons for their state in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy and fresh off the domestic pan, Suyal and Mishra have been signed by Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils respectively for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

Currently representing North Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-finals against West Zone in Rajkot, Mishra has tasted success thick and fast in the domestic circuit. Picked out of virtual obscurity, the 17-year old scalped 16 wickets in three Ranji matches, including a five-for in the quarter-finals against Tamil Nadu and 10 wickets against champions Mumbai in the penultimate match.

The Daredevils team management is pleased with their choice, especially the chief operating officer, Amrit Mathur. "Vikas is a talented youngster and will be a valuable asset to our side. We have picked him based on his recent performances for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy season and we believe he has a long way to go. Vikas will be with our franchise on a one year contract," Mathur told Sportline on Tuesday.

Dream come trueMishra believes that his dream of playing for India has come that much closer by his selection for the third edition of the IPL, beginning in March this year.

"I am extremely pleased with the news. It is something I never anticipated but it is a dream come true," Mishra said, adding, "I did not really support any team before but I am from Delhi, so it will be easier as I already know most of the domestic players."

A tall and lanky left-arm spinner, Mishra is excited about training under New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori during his IPL stay with the Daredevils.

"Vettori is my idol and my role model. It is going to be fantastic to train under him. His tips will be invaluable and it is something I am really looking forward to," he added.

While Mishra is seen as the next big spinning hope for the Capital, Suyal rise to fame has been even more dramatic.

Without even knowing the format of the domestic structure, Suyal arrived in Delhi to join the police force. Less than a year later he found himself bowling left-arm fast for the Delhi Under-22 team and then was picked for the senior team. With 13 wickets in his debut Ranji season in three matches, 20-year old Suyal will now rub shoulders with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

"What can I say, life takes you in strange directions. Cricket was not even a career choice. Sometime back I wasn't even in the Ranji team, and sometime from now I will be training with Sachin Tendulkar. It has been the most unbelievable career to say the least. Everybody who has heard of the game wants to play with Sachin Tendulkar. My dream was to watch him, hopefully I will get to play with him soon," Suyal said.

Life-changing experienceSuyal underwent his selection process under the watchful eyes of Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh at the DY Patil stadium in New Mumbai a few days back and was immediately offered a one year contract.