Felt career was over after nightmare 2019 India tour, says Muthusamy
Six years after taking only two wickets in two Tests in India, Muthusamy cracked his maiden Test ton in the second day of the second Test in Guwahati on Sunday.
New Delhi: South Africa all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy feared his international career might have ended after a disastrous India tour in 2019 but is glad to have bounced back in style from that disappointment.
Six years after taking only two wickets in two Tests, Muthusamy cracked his maiden Test ton in the second day of the second Test in Guwahati on Sunday.
It put South Africa in a strong position at 489 runs in the first innings, having won the first Test in Kolkata.
"My journey's been unique. Got a taste of international cricket in 2019 in India, debuted here, went back into the wilderness a little bit. Like you say, cricket is such a journey that you just try to take it one day at a time. You try not to think too far ahead," he said after end of the day's play.
"But there were times, especially after 2019, where I wasn't sure if I'd ever play Test cricket again and certainly not in India after we lost that series," Muthusamy said, making no bones about where he stood in his career six years back.
"So just really grateful for the support that I've got back home, for the people that are really close with me, the coaches, the support staff here, the players, my family back home, my friends. They've been incredible."
Muthusamy claimed 11 wickets and 89 not out in South Africa's 1-1 draw in Pakistan prior to the ongoing two-Test India tour.
'Indian roots'
His ancestors hail from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu but is yet to visit his extended family although his mother and aunts have been to their native town.
"Yeah, it's fantastic, especially having come through to India in 2019 and we lost the series pretty badly. So, yeah, I've gone back to domestic cricket and I've managed to work my way back into the national set-up and I'm just really grateful for the opportunity to be in India and to put in a performance like that in the first innings is an awesome experience."
"Of course, I'm of Indian heritage, but that was quite a few generations ago. So my roots are in the south, in Tamil Nadu, my mum and my aunt have been to visit our extended family on that end of India, I haven't been there as yet," he added.