It took him six years to make a comeback to the Indian Test team and his spot as an opener is still not guaranteed but Abhinav Mukund would prefer to live in the present and contribute in team's cause rather than thinking about past or future.
With his 81-run knock, Mukund on Friday scored only his second Test half-century after his previous best effort of 62 against the West Indies in Dominica back in 2011.
"I have the opportunity to do something in this Test. I don't want to think ahead to the next Test," said Mukund. “Being the first- choice opener or second-choice opener doesn't make a difference. When you get a chance in the middle, I want to capitalise on it. That's what I thought."
"There was a point of time — I am very honest about it — that I was not raring to even put on whites. I wasn't part of any team — I wasn't part of any first-class team. There was a time when I was dropped from my own First-Class team. To have this opportunity to be part of the Indian team is such a huge bonus. I take every game as an opportunity, that's all. If I am part of the team, not part of the team, again, I will try to do my best wherever I am," said Mukund.
The Tamil Nadu opener said his teammates have been very supportive since his comeback. "The support staff and the senior players have made my stay quite comfortable. I have played a lot with Virat Kohli and Ravindra jadeja and all of these guys at junior level. I think the culture is as such that it is relaxed in the dressing room.
During his knock of 81, Mukund put on 133 runs for the third wicket with skipper Virat Kohli who also overcame his bad patch to score an unbeaten 76.
"We have certain plans, where we try to hold our partnership together at the start and end of each session because when you start and end the session well, it is a big plus for the team. That's something we speak about a lot.
"I thought if two settled batsmen were not out today, that would have given us the impetus to get a few more in the first hour and then out them back in. Unfortunately I got out. It is not something we can control, but it is something we have in the back of our head that we finish the session well," he said.