IPL 2019 | Virat Kohli keeps telling me to up the intensity during practice, reveals Navdeep Saini

Royal Challengers Bangalore will face a touch task when they go up against Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. Virat Kohli & Co. fell to an embarrassing opening day defeat at the hands of defending champions Chennai Super Kings last Saturday and will be hoping to bounce back with a win on home turf.

RCB pacer, Navdeep Saini who made his IPL debut against the Super Kings, revealed that he is eager to perform well under the leadership of Kohli. The Delhi-born pacer added that his captain’s motivation during practice is to replicate the same intensity in the league if handed an opportunity.

“All the help I have got in my bowling is all because of tennis ball cricket. If you want to bowl full withtennis ball, it is crucial you are fast. Since I bowled a lot with the tennis ball, it helped me build strength. Because of that, my arm speed increased as well.

“Virat Kohli keeps telling me, ‘show the same intensity of a match at the nets also. In the nets if you’re conditioned to give 110 percent, you will be at 95 percent level in the match, because there’s added pressure.’ Bowling to top batsmen like Kohli and Ab De Villiers gives me a lot of confidence,” Saini told PTI reporters.

Saini, who is India A regular and also earned a maiden Test call-up for the one-off Test against Afghanistan last June, can regularly breach the 140-mark with his deliveries. The talented youngster also expressed his gratitude towards former Test cricketer Gautam Gambhir who played a key role in his professional growth.

“Gautam Bhaiyya has had the biggest role in my life so far. He was the one who gave me an opportunity when I didn’t have much idea about red-ball cricket. I didn’t have shoes also. He showed a lot of confidence in me,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.