Basil Thampi thanks S Sreesanth for motivating him in tough times

04/27/2018

Basil Thampi has thanked former India bowler S Sreesanth for motivating and advising him in tough times. Thampi, who was awarded as “emerging player of the year” in 2017 IPL edition, called the IPL a great turning point in his career as it earned him a place in India's T20I squad.

Basil Thampi, after his match-winning performance against Kings XI Punjab, where he took 2 wickets by giving only 14 runs, has specially mentioned Sreesanth’s contribution to his career after the match. Sreesanth was banned BCCI to play any form of cricket after the spot-fixing scandal opened up in 2013. However, Thampi did not forget to thank Sreesanth for his contribution to his career.

“Yeah, I speak with Sree bhai also when I have some doubt. If I am feeling low, I message him and he replies. He tells me what to do in certain situations or things that I ought to have done. He motivates me,” Thampi said in an interview, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Thampi also credited the Indian Premier League for his popularity and for its role in him getting a call-up to India’s T20 team for Sri Lanka tour.

“Now everyone knows me. It happened after the last IPL. I got confidence in my bowling. After the 2017 edition, I got a chance in Deodhar Trophy, Duleep Trophy, India A (Away tour of South Africa and home series against New Zealand). I got selected in the India team also for the Sri Lanka tour. MSK Prasad recently texted me to keep practicing hard,” he said.

Thampi’s emergence has come at a time when the Indian pace attack has quite a number of stars in line for a place in the playing XI. Competing with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah is a tough one for any player. Even in his new IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, quality bowlers like Bhuvi, Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma can challenge to a great extent. But, Thampi has claimed that he is not really competing with any player but is rather concentrating on his own strengths.

“I am not competing with anyone. I know my bowling well. I don’t have that much swing. What I can do is hit the right length with great speed. Last year, I consistently bowled yorkers. This time, I just want to mix the deliveries, maybe two yorkers and then a slower one. I am still working on it,” said Thampi.

But Sreesanth was not the only pacer that Thampi credited for his rise in Indian cricket. The Indian star, who also worked with Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, before the 2018 IPL, called the experience a great learning curve for him.

“He advised me to study the batsman well. He told me of different situations during his playing days. He said I should not reduce my pace, even if that means the ball does not swing. This is not the first time I have worked with him. He and Tinu Yohannan have helped me a lot grow as a bowler,” the keralite answered.

Basil Thampi thanks S Sreesanth for motivating him in tough times

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