00:00To be honest, not much. I think as we all know, I think we keep moving on with this
00:05IPL rule of three-year cycle. I think definitely we had one of the greatest players playing
00:10for us for the last cycle but we had to move on from there and now also we have a really
00:14good batting line-up. I think if you see our last three games, we did concede around 280
00:21in the first game but we also ended up scoring 250 also. So we had a good batting line-up
00:26and also the game against Chennai, our batters did really well. So I think we are well balanced.
00:31I think it's a bit too early in the tournament to see where we are. Definitely we will have
00:36our strengths and weaknesses but we are just feeling that we are rightly balanced.
00:56To be very honest, I think I was a bit surprised. I was like, no, it will happen. I have to
01:06bat three times and then in one game I can come in and I can play. But missing out of
01:11three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the games from a different perspective.
01:17So it was a bit different, learning a different experience for me to sit at the dugout and
01:22see my friends, my young brothers playing out there, fighting out there. So to be honest,
01:28I am very happy and excited to be back and to be fully fit to keep wickets, to play as
01:33a normal player. I think I have been really looking forward to it and it feels very exciting.
01:52Before the tournament, you were playing at No. 3 in IPL. Right now, you are playing as
01:57an opener and as a wicket-keeper. How difficult is it for you to shift into that opening role?
02:03Earlier, you were also playing international matches as an opener. But in franchise, you
02:08have different roles, different tactics. How are you making it possible and how are you
02:13helping the team?
02:14It's something definitely very new to me. I think captaining a side, opening, batting
02:20and keeping wickets is definitely challenging. So I am very much looking forward to it. I
02:24think every IPL season brings something new to my career, to my challenge. So I have accepted
02:30it and I am learning from it and very excitingly looking forward, like how can I contribute
02:35in all these three departments.
02:39Sanju, this is the first match here this season and both teams are coming here from away games.
02:46So do you think that negates a bit of home advantage and a visiting team gets a bit more
02:51edge when both teams are coming out of away games and especially in a new season?
02:58Yeah, definitely the home games play a huge role in the conditions we all know which can
03:06be favourable if the toss goes your way. I think definitely conditions you know, but
03:10the toss plays a huge role. But the morale and the energy of the stadium definitely helps
03:16the home team. So yeah, I think Punjab is coming back to their home after a long time
03:21and they will be also having all their fans supporting them. So I think we really enjoy
03:26that challenge and looking forward to it.
03:31Apart of this IPL competition, another competition is going on between the creators and the captains.
03:37Ane is complaining about the fault of the pitch as well. He has also said about the
03:43Gohati pitch. Do you think there is something on the pitch between the creators and the
03:48team?
03:50Yeah, to be very honest, before the IPL, like one month of IPL, I have cut out all my social
03:57media, I have switched off my phone. So I am not aware of things happening in the newspaper
04:02or in the media. To be very honest, I think I personally don't have any comments on that.
04:08I think definitely both teams get to play on the same wicket, both teams get to play
04:13on the same conditions. I think it's a game of cricket, sometimes you score 280, sometimes
04:19you score 150. We just have to play smarter and score one run more from the opponent.
04:24So I think that's how I would like to look at this. So as of now, I don't have any complaints.
04:32Yashasthi hasn't looked as clean as he was in the previous season. Is there anything
04:37that he has been addressing in the coaching sessions?
04:42Yeah, he has been working really hard. I think he has been attending all the practice sessions.
04:46He does tick each and every boxes which he has been ticking from last six years. You
04:50could see he is the most number of hours he only takes in the nets. We had to wait for
04:56many hours for him to get out from the nets. So he is doing everything possible from his
05:00side to score those runs, to win those matches. As we all know IPL is a very challenging format
05:07and as an opener his game is also attacking. He wants to give us a very positive start.
05:12He is looking for those boundaries, he is looking for those sixes and in that process
05:16you tend to lose the wickets also. So I think I would like to see him definitely perform
05:22and come up the ranks at the right moment when the team requires him the most. So I
05:26think I am happy that he is yet to perform but I know when he performs he will be winning
05:30the games for us as a team. So he is doing everything fine I think.
05:34Last question.
06:05How do you see this?
06:08How do you see this? I didn't understand.
06:11So you are saying the teams like Chennai Type 1 winning 5 or 6 games at their own ground.
06:17So that they can step away and build their team according to that. How do you see it happening?
06:28That's how I think in this format there is a very rare chance of getting an upper hand.
06:33So I think any small advantages you want to have as a home team, definitely you will try
06:38to do it strategically and we are also trying our best to do it. So every team does it and
06:43we are also trying to do it in our own way.
06:46Last question.
06:49You mentioned before the season that if you are able to change the rule, you change the
06:55player can't be lead the team. I am talking about Jones but he performed really well for
07:01the good luck. So do you miss him as a player, as a companion, as a support in the ground?
07:10Yeah, absolutely. We all miss him. It's a very very hard moment for myself and the whole
07:15franchise to let him go actually. So I think these funny things keep happening in this
07:19IPL. So we took a long long time to say goodbye to Joss bhai and we are a bit, definitely
07:25are. I think to be honest it would have been great to have him with us but that's how IPL
07:29is. That's how mature I need to become as a captain, as a leader. I need to keep moving
07:34on from what's happening and what can be in our control. Ideally.
07:42Thank you so much.
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