Working its way up | Local sports

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force batsman Amir Jangoo is reaping the rewards of his dedication and commitment to improving his game and his tournament best of 446 runs in the CG United Super50 Cup last month earned him the Express Star of the Month award. submitted for November.

Apart from being named the Most Performing Athlete by the Express Sports Desk in November, 27-year-old Jangoo also received a call-up to the West Indies One-Day International team for the ongoing series against Bangladesh.

His November scores included 93 not out against Barbados Pride, 111 against Guyana Harpy Eagles, 70 against West Indies Academy and 96 against Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

The left-hander averaged 89.2 in seven innings in the Super50.

The Hurricanes’ Justin Greaves was the competition’s second highest run-scorer. He scored 401 runs from five matches before being called up to the West Indies Test team.

The Red Force, the defending champions, were eliminated from the Super50 in the semi-finals, but no winners were crowned as the captains of the Jamaica Scorpions and Barbados Pride did not compete in the rain-damaged final which was held on 23 November in the Brian Lara Tarouba Cricket Academy reduced to 20 overs per side.

While Jangoo was pleased with his first call-up to the West Indies, he said the work continues and he is striving to get better.

“This is just the beginning. International cricket is the pinnacle but it’s about staying at the top,” the former St Anthony’s College and Fatima College student told the Express before joining the Windies’ ODI squad last week.

“Every time I go out to play it’s about giving my best for the team and I’m a positive player and I want to always stay that way,” he added.

When asked what the secret of his success this season is, Jangoo said: “I think it has a lot to do with the work I have done in training with the national team. I hit before practice and then during practice and on my days off I did a lot of individual work and that really helped me succeed.”

Talking about his goals for the future with the ODI side, the wicketkeeper-batter said, “I have an open mind. I just want to enjoy being in this environment. I’ve never been there before, so for me it’s just about getting comfortable at this level and enjoying every moment.

Jangoo also credited his success to working with Red Force assistant coach Rayad Emrit.

Emrit wasn’t surprised by what Jangoo did this season.

“Before the tournament, he is one of the guys who has put in a lot of hard work and he is reaping the benefits of that,” Emrit told the Express.

“Earlier in the four days he was one of our better batters with an average of 100. His success is no secret. He does hard work every day.

“I worked a lot in the offseason. He knows the areas he struggles with and those are the areas we work on on his days off. He is someone who understands his game much better now. He’s not the final product, but he’s getting there.

“I’m really proud of him and hope he can make it to the international stage and stay there for a long time,” Emrit continued.

Former T&T captain Emrit is also keen to continue working with Jangoo in the future.

“As soon as the Super50 tournament was over we were back at it and when he is back in Trinidad we will definitely continue the work,” said the former T&T all-rounder. “It’s not a short-term process. It’s a long-term process and hopefully he does what he wants to do right. I can safely say that I am one of his coaches in the long run,” Emrit added.