Mumbai, Mar 23: Karnataka skipper Robin Uthappa lamented the absence of injured pacer Vinay Kumar after his side lost the pre-quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to Baroda in a thrilling tie-breaker. The wicketkeeper-batsman who is also a key player in the Pune Warriors’ team, is now looking forward to the one-off T20I against South Africa on March 30.
Excerpts from his post-match interaction with the media:
On the match
Baroda beat us convincingly in that Super Over. Scoring 23 runs in an over can be quite difficult. Yusuf [Pathan] played really well in that one off over. Overall, it was a tight game. [It] went down to the wire that just goes to show how important every run is in a T20 game.
On being selected to play in the one-off T20I against South Africa
It is a good opportunity and I am looking forward to it. [...] I am going to try and give my best and hopefully things will go off very well.
On playing the T20 tournament ahead of the IPL
It is good. We will be playing T20 [cricket] in the IPL so before that we get to practice T20 [games]. And since it is a competitive tournament I feel that the entire tournament, right from the league stages should be held at this time because it will be good build-up to the IPL.
On whether they felt the absence of Vinay Kumar
Definitely, we felt the absence of Vinay Kumar, his experience is obviously great [and useful] for the team. Not having him here proved a little difficult for us. But, he has a slight niggle which he is nursing and he has to stay fit playing for the country so he has had a bit of rest.
On the season
It has been good [season] for me to a great extent. Based on the matches that I have played [...] I am pretty happy with my one-day form. In T20 also I have been in good form. [...] overall I have had a good domestic season. [...] want to try and finish the IPL also very well.
