Sam Selvaraj (Auburn) – A Player to Watch at the Nationals !
Sam Selvaraj (Auburn) at the CBRP, Nov 2013
Sam Selvaraj burst onto the scene at the 2013 American College Cricket National Championship, and was a major factor in a rebuilding Auburn Tigers team giving a strong performance. Major stars like All American Naveen Thiagarajan, Prasanna Venkatesh, Rahul Potghan, Ahmad Faraz had graduated and left, so the team came to the South East Championship as an uncertain quantity.
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The 6 ft 2 in, 210 lbs right handed batsman scored 45* vs Florida Tech with 6 fours & 1 six in 32 balls. 19 vs UF then a tremendous knock of 72 in 40 balls with 9 fours & 3 sixes to power Auburn to a tied score with USF in the Semi Finals ! USF won in the Super Over, as the Tigers showed they were on a force to reckon with ! Sam was also excellent wicket keeping, taking a couple of catches. When he steps out from behind the stumps, he bowls off-spin.
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Before he came to Auburn for his MS in Industrial & Systems Engineering Sam had heard about American College Cricket, and the Auburn cricket club so it provided another reason to choose Auburn.
“I played in my high school days. Had a long break thereafter whilst studying at the PSG College of Technology (in Tamil Nadu), and then started my cricketing career here at Auburn. Really excited about the Nationals. SEC was my first tournament and it felt great playing for a team like Auburn. Hope we get the National title home.
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To prepare, we practice every weekend and sometimes during weekdays, though we have to travel some distance to Montgomery for a proper place to play. If its too cold, we stay indoors and watch videos of matches or learn how to play shots, learn to spin the ball, etc…”
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American College Cricket has created a new platform for cricket in the world – what can you personally do, in addition to playing, to contribute to that effort we asked Sam ?
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“I should take responsibility in promoting American College Cricket and spread the word. I wish this concept kicks of in neighboring countries and there should be matches between the best college team in one country vs the best college team in another country. What American College Cricket is doing is great for the game. “
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Sam was recently at Toomer’s Corner for the celebration of Auburn football’s SEC Championship, and of course couldn’t help thinking how wonderful it is to now have a little bit of that kind of school spirit in cricket, courtesy of the American College Cricket movement.
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Who are Sam’s favorite cricketers ? Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Matthew Hayden, AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn, M.S.Dhoni, Jayawardene.
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Selvaraj also likes to play Ultimate Frisbee – a sport that is excellent for practicing the diving catches of wicket-keeping; basketball and to travel – travel he will with the Auburn Tigers cricket club to Ft Lauderdale in March – he will be a player to watch as the 2014 American College Cricket National Championship, March 12 -16 ! The Semi Finals & Finals will be televised by TV Asia, all over the USA & Canada.
Toomers Corner – celebrating Auburn’s SEC Championship win – in football !
