Bengaluru: Young Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi has said that he is filling his cricket appetite by watching old World Cup and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.
Bishnoi was last seen in the U-19 finals earlier this year. He would have been in action for Kings XI Punjab if the IPL had commenced from March 29.
However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I'm filling my cricket appetite watching old World Cup and IPL games on TV. I can't wait to go out and do some real bowling once it's safe. Since the lockdown began, we've only been indoors here in Bikaner. The academy I am part of is conducting fitness classes online," Bishnoi said.
"Not everyone has equipment at home, or the space, so it becomes tricky doing weight training. I've been using big stones or even the LPG cylinder as weights," he added.
Bishnoi also said that he is looking forward to learn from spin maestro Anil Kumble once the IPL starts.
"I was very excited to have a platform like the IPL to prove myself and rub shoulders with some greats, but the world is suffering right now, so those dreams have to wait. And yes, I was looking forward to speaking to Kumble sir," Bishnoi said.
"That was my number one intention when the pre-IPL camp was first announced by Kings XI. I wanted to learn how to read batsmen and how to stay cool from him," he added.
India had lost the finals of the U-19 World Cup against Bangladesh. After the match both sides were also involved in an on-field scuffle.
Bishnoi said that the scuffle happened in the heat of the moment and the players should not have done all that.
"It was all in the heat of the moment. We realised later that we shouldn't be doing all this. That maturity level has come. There's a lesson there. You cannot be short-tempered because ups and downs are part of your cricket journey," Bishnoi said.
"It has been a real learning curve for me. I just looked at that incident positively, extracted what learnings I could," he added.
Leg-spinner Bishnoi had a dream run in the U-19 World Cup played in South Africa as he finished with 17 wickets.
It was the most number of wickets taken by any bowler in the 2020 edition and also the most by an Indian in the tournament.
