NEW DELHI: Agni Chopra continued his red hot run in the Ranji Trophy by scoring yet another double century while representing Mizoram. In a match against Manipur, Agni, son of filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and film critic Anupama Chopra, showcased his batting prowess, amassing a remarkable 218 runs off a mere 269 deliveries.
Agni has been a standout performer in the Ranji Trophy Plate League, making an incredible start to his first-class career by scoring four consecutive centuries.
He registered scores of 105, 101, 114, 10, 164, 15, 166, and 92 in his first four Ranji matches, becoming the first batter in history to score centuries in his first four first-class games – a feat even the legendary Don Bradman never accomplished.
Agni had previously scored 110 and an unbeaten 238 in Mizoram’s match against Arunachal Pradesh in Ahmedabad, leading his team to a commanding 267-run victory.
He seems unperturbed by the fact that his runs came in the Plate League, stating that it’s your performance that truly reflects your talent.
“People will say what they have to say but, at the end of the day, it’s your performance and there are lot many players who are playing in the same division and not scoring that many runs. The standard is same for everyone,” Chopra had earlier told PTI.
“I think I am trying to be in present and my aim is to take Mizoram to Elite division. If we are in Elite division, then there is nothing to think about in terms of quality of bowling and I will play for Mizoram.” While the top 32 teams in the domestic circuit play in four groups of the Elite League, six other teams, five of which are from the north-east region, feature in the Plate League.
Agni also made his intentions clear about playing in IPL saying he wants to be picked based on his caliber not for any other reason.
“Maybe I am not good enough so I wasn’t picked (in the IPL auction). For me, I want to be picked for anything based on my pedigree, it shouldn’t be because of anything else. I don’t think my dad would ever pick up the phone and tell anyone just because I told him to. I have to be good enough so that they are calling my dad, rather than my dad calling them,” Agni told PTI.
“If something like that (his father pulling ranks) happened, may be I will be picked in squad, but surely, would not get to play in the eleven. I don’t want to be in a team where I am picked because of a phone call and then I am not going to play.” he added.
