Nagpur, June 1
The cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided a good platform to a number of young players to show their talent. Due to team combination, some players don't get an opportunity to play but they still learn lot of things while sharing a dressing room with big players.
Vidarbha's prolific left-handed batsman Atharva Taide is one of them. Bought for his base price of Rs20 lakh, Taide was the member of Mayank Agarwal-led Punjab Kings in the IPL 2022 in which Gujarat Titans emerged winners.
He spent almost two months with big players and shared his experience with Lokmat Times. “I have no regret that I didn't play any match. The overall experience was still good. I shared dressing room with big players and learnt a lot of things from them. Although they are star players, they are very humble. I learnt from them how to remain humble, how to talk, how to behave on and off the field, how to remain down to earth and carry oneself.”
Asked whether this experience will help him in forthcoming domestic season, Taide, who scored 270 runs in seven matches at an average of 54 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season, said, “It is not in my hand whether this experience will help me or not. I can say that a lot of things became clear about my game. I realised where I am standing today.”
Taide said the team management didn't pressure the players to do different things throughout the IPL season but asked them to concentrate on their own game. “In our very first meeting, the coach told us to keep on improving what you have been already doing. Do best that you can do and that would help you in the matches. I gave my 100% during training sessions," he said.
'Jitesh grabbed opportunity'
Taide praised his teammate wicket-keeper batsman Jitesh Sharma who grabbed the attention of all by playing some explosive knocks. “Jitesh is an outstanding player. He grabbed the opportunity. In fact, he is India team material and he expressed himself in IPL. He played his natural game and also showed smartness in one close game against Delhi. He showed maturity and character. He is a swashbuckling batsman but he can also play with patience,” Taide said.