EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: How Navdeep shone bright in India's victory over Australia

Saini opens up with ETV Bharat in a chat where he tells about his plans ahead and the forthcoming T20 World Cup this year.

Hyderabad: The never heard bravado of Indian cricketers in Australia is a story that can be passed on to generations. Never have words like "resilience, grit, and determination" so frequently made it to the papers as this time especially when players were cut off from their familiar moorings due to the coronavirus, leading to their isolation in fancy yet desolate hotels of Australia.

There are always heroes in the story and in this tale, we have a hero who made his debut in Australia following his prowess in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League. Navdeep Saini, hailing from Karnal, is riding high after India scripted history in Australia, beating them 2-1 and retaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

His four wickets in two matches may not be mind-boggling figures, but the fast bowler gave everything he had, even pitching in for his skipper when he wanted to rest his other pace bowlers.

The effort was no less than Hanuma Vihari's heroics in Sydney since Saini made sure he bowls with accuracy.

The 28-year-old bowler is a part of a monumental effort but he is still keeping cards close to his chest. He just wants to stay fit and give his best everytime he is on the field.

Saini opens up with ETV Bharat in a chat where he tells about his plans ahead and the forthcoming T20 World Cup this year.

Excerpts:

Q. Tell us about your injury status.

A. I am injured and I will go to NCA as of now. I will then be able to tell about my injury status.

Q. What was the atmosphere in the dressing room after Virat Kohli left Australia?

A. I didn't feel any difference because you play as a team and when you go into a match, you have 11 players. Performance matters a lot in those matches. So when Virat bhaiya (elder brother) took leave, he told us one thing -- give your 110 percent. I also had a chat with Virat bhai and he advised me to play the way I have always played. Everyone wanted to give their 100 percent regardless of what the result of the match would be.

Q. Did you ever miss the absence of any senior player?

A. It happens. When seniors get injured, they don't play matches. The good thing about this is when you do your practice sessions with them, there is no concept of senior and junior. We all play as a family and guide each other. An atmosphere is created for the juniors and hence it gets easier in the matches. For example, all the senior bowlers had a good chat with us. They told us the kind of situation we may find ourselves in during matches and how we have to be prepared for everything. We were also told about the decision that needs to be taken in a match situation. We were told everything beforehand and we were prepared.

Q. Your most memorable moment...

A. Australian tour was special for me because I played in the ODI matches, and made my Test debut from there. We also won the series, which is a massive achievement. I will always remember this. For me, Test debut has been special. It's a different thing whether you get wickets or not, the most important thing is that you have made your debut for India and my debut wicket was my favourite one.

Q. What was the atmosphere in the dressing room before and after the series?

A. Everything felt normal on the last day of the Gabba Test. We had discussed that whatever may be the results, we will play our natural game. When Rishabh Pant was batting, it seemed like the match might be headed to a draw but the way he batted, after some time, we thought we could win as well. He batted so well that we won the match in the end because no one had thought that something like this could ever happen. All the staff members, players had put in a lot of hard work which resulted in our success.

Q. What do you think about Shardul's batting skills?

A. The way he scored 50 runs, I wish he could score a hundred because Shardul is a wonderful all-rounder. I like to learn from others.

Q. What was it like to bowl to Steve Smith?

A. It was a good experience because it was my debut and bowling to Smith is always a difficult task. We had a plan in place and when you bowl accordingly then you feel that you are doing good.

Q. What's your plan ahead, now that the Australian tour has ended?

A. For now, I just want to meet my family. It's a different matter whether I will be in the forthcoming series or not, the focus will be to stay fit.

Q. What do you think about playing in the T20 World Cup this year?

A. I hope I get to play but I haven't really thought about it. I make small targets like I need to stay fit. I will play accordingly. We have ODI and T20 series coming and then IPL is there, so we have time for the World Cup and I like to think step-by-step.

Q. The picture of your shoe got viral during IPL 2020 and there was something written on it...

A. I had seen Mitchell Starc bowling and there was something written on his wrist and it came to my mind that I can do something similar when down in the dumps. So when you are down you can always remember what you need to do. All of my shoes have that written on them now. It serves as a reminder.

--Varsha Singh