The Kerala based medium pacer speaks about his maiden India ‘A’ call-up, the confidence that IPL helped him gain and more…
“It is a dream come true for me and I am short of words to express how happy I have been since morning,” says the Kerala medium pacer who earned his maiden India ‘A’ call-up on Thursday morning.
Expressing himself further, Basil adds that, “My phone has been buzzing non-stop since morning with my family, friends and relatives calling in to congratulate me and send in their best wishes.”
The pacer who is going through his fitness tests and routines at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru currently, became a cynosure of all eyes during the tenth edition of IPL due to his ability to bowl fast yorkers.
Ask him if he was expecting the India ‘A’ call-up, the youngster iterates, “Actually not! To be very honest, I am somebody who sets short goals for myself and then I try and work towards it. For instance, when I started playing cricket, I had set a goal to play in the Ranji Trophy and then I worked towards achieving it. Similarly, I played for IPL and India ‘A’ was the next goal that I had set for myself.”
Basil who was up against world class batsmen in his first season at the IPL, credits the league for the confidence that it helped him gain.
“My biggest takeaway from IPL has been the confidence that I have gained. I bowled to some world class hitters of the game and looked to contain them. Also, I learnt a lot in terms of expressing myself - on and off the field, how to react under pressure situations and be a bit more aggressive on the ground,” adds the youngster who calls himself a ‘shy’ person and feels that he has only learnt to express himself better after being in the Gujarat Lions squad around the best management and team.
An enthused Basil who is training at the NCA also feels that it was that short conversation after the IPL final with the Master that has motivated him even further to perform and work towards his goal. “It was a moment for me to cherish as Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji called me and told me that he was following all my matches closely and how he thinks that I would play for the country one day. That conversation has had a lot of impact on me as each day I go into my training, more motivated and energised thinking that I need to live up to the Master’s expectations.”
Basil looks to carry his IPL momentum into the India ‘A’ team and wants to contribute by giving his 100 percent to the team. “I definitely look forward to take the IPL confidence into the India ‘A’ tour. IPL gave me the opportunity to perform against the biggest players of the sport and I would love to give in my 100 percent in the upcoming tour to South Africa.”
