I want to win matches for the team, says Basil Thampi

03/19/2019

Basil Thampi sounded very keen on winning matches for team Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming IPL banking on his previous experience. Being part of a team whose traditional strength has always been bowling, Thampi is looking forward to his chances after his exploits in the 2017 breakthrough season.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad has one of the finest fast bowling attacks in the IPL, with pacers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan. However, 25-year-old Thampi, who only played four games last year, was hopeful that he would get his fair share of chances in this year’s edition in order to showcase his skills and put up match-winning performances.

"This coming season I want to do well. The most important thing is if I get a chance, I want to do well for the team. I want to win matches for the team. From the last experience, I learnt a lot from this team," said Thampi, reported PTI.

The Kerala pacer has caught notice with his simple strategy of consistently bowling toe-crushing yorkers, one of the most potent balls in T20 cricket. "I want to stick to my thing. Because I have good yorkers, I guess, and want to stick to it and, with that, some variations," he said.

Thampi has been able to gain some valuable experience since his stint with Gujarat Lions in IPL 2017, where he had scalped 11 wickets in 12 games. "The main thing I learnt was how to prepare the body, that is very important, how to set up your body, that is (also) a very important thing," he stated.

The best in the business compete in the cash-rich tournament which has always made things very difficult for young pacers, and the right arm medium pacer was quick to point this out. "It is very challenging to bowl in the IPL because it is a batsman's game and we all know that. And we should have confidence to bowl, that is the key. So in the last three years, I got the confidence to bowl at everyone. Whenever I get the ball, I want to deliver my best," he said.

When questioned about his camaraderie with the other young pacers in the Orange Army, he said that "We know each other. Khaleel, Sandeep and Siddharth Kaul - we played together in India A matches. We are (always) sharing our thoughts on and off the field.”

The Hyderabad based franchise is set to start their IPL campaign on March 24 at the Eden Gardens against Kolkata Knight Riders.