Proudest day of my life, Rasool on IPL debut

May 10, 2013

Rasool_on_IPL_debut

Pune, May 10: Parveez Rasool, who became the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the Indian Premier League, has called his debut for Pune Warriors the "proudest day" of his life even though the team ended up on the losing side.

"This is the proudest day of my life. And the whole of Jammu and Kashmir was watching the match and I am proud of that. I feel really great. First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah, I have made it this far. It feels really nice to get an opportunity in the IPL and to be able to perform at this level," Rasool told IPLT20.com.

After spending his time on the bench for 12 matches, the 24-year-old batting all-rounder finally found a place in the playing XI of Pune Warriors ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders here last night.

Rasool replaced leg-spinner Rahul Sharma to earn his maiden IPL cap.

He dedicated his debut performance against KKR, an economical four-over spell for 23 runs and the prized scalp of Jacques Kallis, to the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir and his fans across India.

"I would like to dedicate my debut performance to the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir and all the well-wishers all around India," he said.

"Jacques Kallis is definitely a legend; the best all-rounder in cricket. So, it felt really good to get his wicket. Kallis' wicket was something truly special for me," he added.

The off-spinner said he was nervous initially but Yuvraj Singh helped soothe his fraying nerves.

"Yes, the first couple of balls I was nervous. Then Yuvi Paaji (Yuvraj Singh) came over to me and helped me settle down. I came to know this morning (that I am part of the playing XI) and I was really happy and excited at the prospect of playing. I was training real hard for whenever I would get the chance to play for PW. And I wanted to make sure I grabbed that chance with both hands," Rasool said.

Rasool said he considers himself a bowling all-rounder.

"Currently, I consider myself a bowling all-rounder. But when I started out, I was a batting all-rounder. However, I bat well too.

"But it depends on the chances I get to bat. I did get to face a few balls (against KKR), and it felt good to be out there in the middle. I will surely rise up to the batting challenge as well when I get a chance," he said.

Rasool said his ultimate target is to don the national colours one day.

"Now my goal is to ensure I play well in every match I get to play. I want to do well for the team and for myself. I hope I play well enough to play for India some day."

The unassuming player from the valley shot to limelight with a seven-wicket haul against the visiting Australians while playing for the Board President's XI earlier this year.

Rasool, a day ahead of his 24th birthday, spun a web around the Aussies with impressive figures of seven for 45 for the Board President's XI on a pitch that offered the slow bowlers assistance.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 23,2020

Karachi, Jun 23: Pakistan cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and rookie Haider Ali on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed three players - Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan - have tested positive for Covid-19," said the PCB in a statement.

"The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men's national cricket team's tour to England."

The infected players will go into self-isolation.

"The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation," the statement said.

Earlier this month, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was tested positive for the deadly virus.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Former England skipper David Gower feels Sourav Ganguly has the right "political skills" to lead the ICC one day and he has already displayed that as BCCI president, which is a "far tougher job".

The elegant left-hander is very impressed with Ganguly's leadership abilities and believes that he has what it takes to head the global body in the future.

"One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you are going to run BCCI, you need to be many, many things. Having a reputation like he (Ganguly) has is a very good start, but you need to be a very deft politician.

"You need to have control of a million different things," Gower said ahead of "Q20", a unique chat show for the fans presented by 'GloFans'.

Gower reckons being president of the BCCI is the toughest job imaginable in world cricket.

"And of course, you need to be responsible for a game that is followed by, I mean, should we say a billion people here in India," he said.

"We all know about the immense following for cricket in India. So it is indeed a wonderful thing to behold. Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good.

"He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently," he said.

Political skills are a must in administration and that's where Gower finds his fellow left-hander ticking all the boxes.

"He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows?

"But I would actually say the more important job, to be honest, is running BCCI. Being head of ICC is an honour, there is a lot that can be done by ICC, but actually look at the rankings, look at where the power is heading up. BCCI is definitely the bigger job," he said.

On the cricketing front, Gower believes World Test Championship has given the format much-needed context.

"The idea of this World Test Championship has come about for one very simple reason that people are worried about the survival of Tests. Back in the seventies, eighties, I don't think we needed context to be fair.

"Test cricket was very much more obviously the most important format and if there was anything to be judged by, it was the performances in Test matches both as an individual and as a team.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.