Chandigarh: Prashant Chopra had set himself small goals after an astounding Ranji season, where he was the third highest scorer with 978 runs, and he is inching towards achieving those goals. The Himachal cricketer on Sunday was selected in the Rest of India squad to play against Ranji champions Gujarat in the Irani Cup and the 24-year-old says he would like to prove his capabilities if given a chance to play.

“Getting selected in the Rest of India team is quite important an event for me as I had set myself some goals for 2017 and it was one of them. It’s the next step after Ranji and I am happy that my performance didn’t go unnoticed. I hope to utilize this chance to cement my place in bigger tournaments like playing for India A team,” said Chopra, who had scored a double ton, two centuries and four half centuries in the last Ranji season.

“I just need to do the basic things right that I was doing during the Ranji season. I don’t have any added pressure. I will play my normal cricket as I did for Himachal last season. Even if I don’t play then also it will b a great exposure as I would be sharing the dressing room with India players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Wridhiman Saha,” said the youngster, adding that in 2017 he would definitely like to win at least one format of Ranji for his state.

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Chopra said that though he had a fantastic Ranji season 2017, he wasn’t happy as Himachal Pradesh failed to qualify for the Ranji Trophy Elite Group. “Now I want to win at least one format of Ranji for Himachal,” said the youngster, adding, “I also want to perform well in the coming one-day and T20 tournaments.”

“2016 Ranji season has given me a lot of confidence and I want to carry on from here. I want to get more consistent. I want to improve as aplayer,” said Chopra, adding that he would definitely like to play for an IPL team.

“Who does not want to do that? But yes I am not desperate. I will wait for my chance to come. The competition at that level is quite high and I am aware of that. My duty is to perform and I am doing that on consistent basis,” said Chopra, who practices at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh.