PUNE, Jan 28: ``In dreams begin responsibilities!'' If this was a quote that had been attributed to the Pune boy when he made his international cricketing debut almost a year-and-a-half-ago, today there is too much at stake for Hrishikesh Kanitkar.Because, barely a year after he shot into fame after hitting the boundary off Saqlain Mushtaq in the penultimate ball of a match to put India on the winning side of a record target, he stands on the threshold of another dream inches away from putting Pune on the World Cup map.The path has not been all smooth sailing. For, even as the `winning-runs-off-the-last-ball' phenomenon was fast becoming a Hrishikesh Kanitkar trademark, the vagrancies of cricket-dom had struck cruelly last year. Kanitkar found himself out of the side that was to leave for the cooler climes of New Zealand in December.Crueler and unexpected because by this time the southpaw was fast on track for filling an important gap in the Indian side a left-handed all-rounder. Testimony to claim were his gentle off-spinners, well interspersed with faster ones to disorient the batsmen and earning him an economy rate of 4.75, alongwith the capacity for batting the team out of a tense situation.Most would have been perplexed and frustrated by this sudden change of fortunes. Fame and success, after all, are rather addictive. Not so for Hrishikesh. ``I knew I had to work hard, practise more. I had to improve in every aspect of the game - batting, bowling and fielding,'' he said as he shifted base to the Poona Club cricket ground, spending long hours slogging at the nets.An attitude reminiscent of the time when, despite closing the domestic season with an average of 82.75 - the second highest in the country - he did not find himself a part of the Sri Lanka tour in 1997. ``I think I have quite a number of years ahead of me. I will wait for my chance,'' he had said at the very same nets.And like that time almost two years ago, Kanitkar's optimism was fulfilled once again, as he was recalled first as captain of the India `A' team that was to meet the touring West Indies and then for the ODIs in New Zealand.However, one dream remained. ``My ambition is to play a Test match'' screamed the headlines as the media rediscovered the cricketer who believed that, ``Determination, concentration and hard work, and a bit of luck, are the most important ingredients of success.''And, with Dame Fortune on his side, alongwith past successes to underline his value, Hrishikesh Kanitkar has found for himself the most coveted Test place in the country - against the side that is meeting Pakistan in their historic tour of the country.One question, however, remains. Will all that he has achieved be enough for him to survive the chopping and changing that will go on before the final World Cup team is announced in a couple of months? ``Yes!'' is the unequivocal answer. ``I know my game. I know I have the talent, and can work hard all that is needed to make the World Cup side. I am very close to every cricketer's ultimate dream now, and there is no way that I am going to let it slip from my hands. This is no time to let go.''Another dream.another responsibility! The competition is tough. Can the Pune boy pull off bagging the first World Cup cap for his city?
