It was perhaps fitting that Saransh Jain was at a temple when his prayers were answered. At 9am on Tuesday, the BCCI announced the squad for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, giving the 33-year-old offspin allrounder from Madhya Pradesh his maiden India call-up.
"When I checked my phone after leaving the temple premises, there were a lot of missed calls and messages," Jain tells Cricinfo. "Before I could read anything, I got a call from my MP team-mate Parth Sahani, and he started congratulating me. I was confused because the BCCI doesn't announce squads this early in the day; they generally do it around noon or later. But when he told me it was out officially, I was extremely happy."
Jain is a tall, old-school spinner who prefers to flight the ball and beat batters in the air. But he is also open to trying new things. He often bowls around the wicket to right-hand batters, bringing both edges of the bat into play. Recently, he has also added the legbreak to his armoury, though for now he doesn't intend to use it in red-ball cricket.
As a left-hand batter, Jain can be defensive as well as aggressive and has two first-class hundreds to his name. So far, in 54 first-class matches, he has scored 2223 runs at an average of 31.75 and taken 188 wickets at 27.30.
Jain's call-up has defied convention. Since 1955, only two Indians - Robin Singh and Rakesh Shukla - have made their Test debuts after turning 33. But more than Jain, it was his father Subodh who was elated with the selection. He, too, was an offspinner and played nine first-class games for MP in the 1980s but never represented India.
"That was another reason he wanted me to play for India," Jain says of his father. "In a way, it has been his dream too."
Soon after his first-class debut in 2014-15, though, Jain's father was diagnosed with mouth cancer, and cricket briefly took a back seat. But Subodh pulled him back. Unable to speak because of the surgery, he wrote on a piece of paper: "I am fine now, son. If you just play well, I will get better sooner."
He has since recovered from cancer, but Jain still has a photo of that note in his phone and revisits it whenever his motivation wanes.
Cricket, meanwhile, offered little immediate reward, and for years, the dream of playing for India remained distant. Despite starting his career with a five-for against Tamil Nadu, Jain played only eight red-ball games between then and 2022.
His fortunes changed only after Chandrakant Pandit became the MP head coach and backed him with a sustained run in the side. Since then, there has been no looking back. In three of the last four Ranji Trophy seasons, Jain has achieved the double of scoring 300 runs and taking 25 wickets. Only Mumbai's Shams Mulani has done so as many times during this period.
The latest edition was arguably Jain's best: he scored 518 runs at an average of 57.55 and took 30 wickets at 20.43. Just before that, he was the Player of the Tournament in the Duleep Trophy, scoring two half-centuries and taking 16 wickets in two matches.
However, good numbers alone have never guaranteed an India cap. Consider Rajinder Goel, Amol Muzumdar, or Jalaj Saxena, an offspin allrounder from MP like Jain. Despite an unmatched record in domestic cricket, Saxena never got an India call-up because they already had a certain R Ashwin.
For Jain, everything came together at the right time. Earlier this month, he strengthened his case by scoring an unbeaten 70 and taking six wickets for India A in the second four-day game against Sri Lanka A in Galle. The selectors wanted an offspinner for Sri Lanka's left-hand batters, and with Washington Sundar unavailable for the first Test, Jain got the nod.
In March, Jain also worked with Harbhajan Singh at an offspinners' camp at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Harbhajan told him there was little wrong with his technique and urged him to focus on the tactical side of the game.
"He gave me a few tips on using angles and variations," Jain says. "One piece of advice that will always stay with me is: 'To gain something, you don't have to lose something but do something'."
In Sri Lanka, Jain has a lot to gain. If he gets the opportunity, he believes his experience of playing in Galle, which will host the opening Test, could prove valuable.
"I had been to Sri Lanka as a junior cricketer, but this was my first time playing in Galle. It was also my first time bowling with a red Kookaburra ball. So it was a good experience for the upcoming series."
The wait for an India call-up lasted longer than Jain would have imagined. Finally, at 33, the dream he has shared with his father for years is within touching distance.