IPL 2019 | Looking forward to getting an opportunity when the time comes, says Martin Guptill
Martin Guptill revealed that he is okay with waiting for an opportunity to prove himself in the Indian Premier League this season after being picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a base price of INR one crore. Guptill is the second all-time highest run scorer in the T20I format behind Rohit Sharma.
Martin Guptill’s name would probably be the first name you get onto the team line-up when a coach is preparing the matchday XI. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody seems to happy with the job of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow who’ve been trusted to open the innings instead of Guptill.Â
The Kiwi batsman was the highest run-getter in T20Is for a long time but was recently overtaken by another opener - Rohit Sharma. Guptill was roped in by the Hyderabad-based franchise for his base price of INR one crore for the 2019 season of the IPL but is yet to make his debut for the orange and black brigade. The 32-year old batsman revealed that he has no issues playing second fiddle and will wait for the perfect opportunity to come his way.
"It's funny. When I come here I don't expect to play straight away. It was the same when I was with Kings XI [Punjab in 2017]; I didn't play straightaway. Just sit back and watch, and try to do as much as I can to help the guys who are playing.
"I got an opportunity to play with Mumbai a couple of years ago and Kings XI the next year. I had the year off last year, and coming here this year, I am looking to forward to hopefully getting an opportunity when the time comes but it's one of those things; you bide your time until you get selected. I have been up in the auction a few times and I have been picked up but when I go into the auction, I go in with reasonably low expectations. If I get picked up, that's great and if I don't get picked up, then I am not too disappointed," Guptill told ESPNCricinfo in a recent interview.
Guptill’s had a few ups and downs this season as far as his form with the bat was considered. During the ODI series against India at home, the opener scored just 47 runs in four innings. A disc injury kept him out of the T20I series that followed but he regained fitness and was at his best once again scoring back-to-back ODI hundreds against Bangladesh.
"I had a few issues with something in my game during the India series at home. There were a couple of balance issues. I wasn't loading up properly in my sit up and that was causing me to play different lines than what I would have liked to. But I watched a lot of footage of what I was doing at that time and what I was doing previously that was working for me.
"I managed to work on those hard and come on the other side and got a couple of centuries against Bangladesh. I am just looking to carry on that sort of rhythm and form that I had there and if I get an opportunity to play,