IPL 2019 | I know I am a better player than three balls I faced, says Ashton Turner

Ashton Turner has seen his spot in the middle order of Australian batting line-up. The batsman has so far played three ODIs bagging 125 runs and maintains an average of 62.50 which is the highest score being unbeaten 84 against India at Mohali.

The Australian middle-order batsman was pouched in by Rajasthan Royals' team management in the 2019 auctions, but the Australian can’t show his heroics in the season where he was admitted to three consecutive ducks in the start of his IPL career. However, the batsman managed to lift him up from the series of ducks in his three matches when he scored the first run in his fourth match of the IPL against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Things changed funnier when the Rajasthan Royals players applauded from the dug-out when the Australian picked his first run in the season. He felt that it was like a massive weight lifted off from his shoulders.

"I guess that's a lot of pressure, and I'd never been in a situation like that. Probably the first time I've ever doubted my ability. But I felt like once I got that first run, I had a massive weight lifted off my shoulders,” Turner said, reported ESPN Cricinfo

Turner’s 84 off 43 against India would have urged the selectors to bill his name in World Cup squad, but the absence of him in the ODI against Pakistan and his poor performance in the IPL have made his hopes unpaid. Turner felt that, though he practised well inside the nets and built hope to do well in the field, still it is like facing the first ball and holding the bat for the first time.

"There is one side of my brain that rationalises everything that's happened to me.  I've come in in some tough situations, late in games. I've played some selfless shots, I've played some poor shots as well. I know that I'm a better player than the three balls that I faced at the start of my IPL career”, he said.

“But there's also that irrational side of your brain that is running rampant and starts to doubt everything that you've done. Even though I knew I was playing well in the nets, hitting the ball nicely, and I feel like my game suits the situation and conditions, even then, picking up my bat to face the first ball, I felt like I'd forgotten how to hold the bat”, Turner added.  

The 26-year-old, who didn't have any hopes of being picked in the IPL auction, said that he has to deal with a big task of repaying the faith of the management had in him.

"I feel like I have a duty to repay the faith that Rajasthan had in me. There's not many players who can get three first-ball ducks in a row and still get another opportunity to play. I've been overwhelmed by how supportive they've been of me", he felt.