Hyderabad: "Rahul Dravid was the backbone of our team", said the young seamer Ishan Porel while talking about India's Under-19 squad that lifted 2018 U-19 World Cup under Prithvi Shaw's captaincy.
Porel, who grabbed the eyeballs of cricket enthusiasts across the world after taking a four-wicket haul vs arch-rival Pakistan in U19 WC, in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat opened-up about his relationship with his then coach Rahul Dravid, lockdown and saliva ban.
When asked about Dravid's influence on him, Porel said, "He (Rahul Dravid) was the backbone of our team. As we all know, he is the wall of Indian cricket. We were really blessed to have a coach like him. We keep on learning new things from him each day. Also in India A team, he is always there," before adding, "I have never seen a coach like him. He is such a humble person and he keeps inspiring us every day."
Porel, who was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League auctions revealed that Dravid told him during the lockdown, that if he needs anything or any help, he is just one phone call away.
Speaking about his U19 days, the right-arm seamer said, "For any Indian, representing the country in any sports or anywhere is a proud feeling. For me, representing India was very special. It was a very exciting moment of my life. And when we won that World Cup, we felt like we were at the top of the world."
The 21-year-old pacer revealed that Rajasthan Royals and Assam cricketer Riyan Parag was closest to him from U19 squad and they are still in touch.
The West Bengal cricketer said that ace South African seamer Dale Steyn and Australia's Brett Lee were his idols growing up.
When asked about the saliva ban enforced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in their latest players guidelines amid COVID-19 pandemic, the Hooghly based cricketer said, "It is going to be tough for bowlers, because we are used to it. But we will have to adopt it."
Talking about the virus shutdown Porel said, "It is a bit tough, to be honest, to see people sitting at home and not doing anything. But as a cricketer and sportsperson, I need to do some exercise to keep myself fit. Because we can get a call anytime that cricket is going to resume or IPL is going to take place next month."
Porel also opined that nowadays to play the cricket on the highest level, you will have to be good at everything batting, bowling and fielding, before adding that he is aiming to don the blue jersey for India by next year.
