Ranadeb Bose at his home on Monday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Ranadeb Bose was leaving for a session at the gym in the evening when Prof. Ratnakar Shetty called on his cell. The BCCI’s chief administrative officer informed the mediumpacer that he and Ishant Sharma had to leave for Ireland at the earliest to join the team as cover for the sick players.

The chief emotion was one of apprehension at the thought of having to get ready at such short notice. The next hour or so was spent in picking up some warm clothes from a nearby shopping mall.

“To be fair, I haven’t had the time to think about it yet … Maybe once I am on the flight will it dawn that I am on way to joining the team,” Ranadeb told The Telegraph.

Ranadeb will take an early morning flight out of the city for Mumbai on Tuesday. Both players will then leave for Belfast in the early hours of Wednesday. They will miss the first match of the three-match series versus South Africa but will be available for the second game (on Saturday) onwards.

Ranadeb, who had originally been selected only for the Test series in England, has been laying stress on his physical conditioning over the past few days. He resumed bowling at nets towards the latter part of last week.

“I have been bowling of late and hopefully will be in good nick once I am there… From what I have seen on TV, the wicket seems to have pace and bounce. Getting used to the conditions shouldn’t be a problem,” he said.

Will adjusting to the one-dayers be a problem? “I have played a lot of one-day cricket last season and with help from the seniors I am confident of success.”

As one got ready to ask the next question, Ranadeb pleaded, “Can you keep it short please! I am in the midst of packing. I only hope I don’t miss out on any important stuff.”

One had to accede to this request.