DURBAN, April 25: It is hard to believe Jean-Paul Duminy was a kid who fought hard to overcome a problem of shyness. Bowlers around the world don’t like it one bit though.

The classy southpaw who was bought by Mumbai Indians for the IPL was seen a youngster with tremendous potential but also as one lacking confidence to make the talent count. "He never believed he could play for South Africa. In fact, but we kept insisting he would one day. He made his debut in 2004 but not until 2006 was he fully convinced of his own abilities," recalled the batsman’s father, John Duminy.

The list of South African cricketers who have benefited after a stint with a psychologist is endless. Duminy is the latest on the list. The star batsman took solace in reading books about successful sportsmen. The exercise actually helped. "In Test cricket you need tremendous mental strength and when he went to play Test cricket he was finally up for the challenge," said John.

Duminy himself attaches a great deal of significance to an unbeaten 176 in a 36-over game at age 12. "It was only after that knock I knew, what others thought of my game made sense." Duminy’s friends in his neighbourhood at Strandfontein were convinced of his talent even before that knock. Those were days in South Africa where school cricket attracted a large attendance. Sadly it is not the case any more.

After enjoying stupendous success against Australia, Duminy was seen as the next big thing in international cricket. Blessed with a water tight technique, Duminy is not troubled by the short ball and is equally comfortable against spin. "It is important to be good against all types of bowlers. With the amount of video footage available a batsman can be easily sorted out. The focus should be on constant improvement," he said.

The 25-year-old was snapped up by the Mumbai team for a whopping $ 950,000. "To be honest it was a little embarrassing. The first week has been great. To share a dressing room with players you grew up admiring is a great honour. There is so much to learn from them and the tournament," said Duminy.

As a schoolkid Duminy was told to put his kit away and play soccer to get back to the right frame of mind. The return to cricket was marked by throw-downs from his father with his school friends around. The break helped him get regain focus.

Duminy is only six Test matches and 47-ODIs old but there is enough to believe he will set the stage alight. After achieving great success in Australia the going got tough for Duminy at home against the world champions. Duminy sees it as an aberration. The big price Mumbai paid to pick him could just be proved correct, if one has to go by the consistency with which he kept hitting those long balls in practice on Friday.