In this episode of 'Free Hit', a series of exclusive video interviews with players, officials and TV pundits from the Indian Premier League, Boria Majumdar chats with Former India player and IPL veteran Manoj Tiwary
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00:00You have been there, done that. For a young player, and I'm specifically asking this for
00:05young people. I mean, there are a lot of these youngsters wanting to make a mark in the IPL,
00:10but it's the IPL. How do you deal with pressure?
00:18Hello, and welcome to another edition of Free Hit on Gulf News with me. And today I've got a
00:22very special guest, someone who has won in one season, four most valuable players slash stylish
00:28player of the year, you know, match award. He was, and if you look at him, you will know why he's a
00:33very stylish player. And at one point in time that innings against Dale Steyn, that will forever be
00:39etched in my memory when I talk about this man, almost champion of the IPL for the rising Pune
00:46Supergiants when they played, champion of the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders, hitting the winning
00:51runs as well. Illustrious IPL career, somebody extremely close to me, extremely close to me.
00:59Thank you very, very much, Manoj Tiwari for joining me.
01:01Thank you very much, Boriyada, for having me.
01:06Let's get to your child. Please, please, let's, let's, let's. This is, this is free hit. I mean,
01:11so beautiful. There you go. There's father Manoj for you.
01:16You will never leave me. If he sees me alone, he will run coming here.
01:21Is he a cricketer in the offing? Is that the plan or whatever?
01:25As of now, as of now, he's busy with his songs in the mobile. So whenever he wakes up,
01:31obviously, he's looking after the mobile being kept. It's unbelievable how so young children
01:37are like glued to the mobile. So we try to keep it away from him as much as we can. But I've
01:43bought him a couple of cricket equipments. But as of now, he has not shown any kind of interest.
01:50But in between, he picks up balls, plastic balls and chucks it to his bigger brother,
01:56who is Max German Shepherd. So they both play together. And in the evening, I do take him
02:03for a walk. And that's why he always keeps running after me so that I'll take him downstairs in the
02:08complex for a walk. Now coming to the IPL, you have been there, done that. For a young player,
02:16and I'm specifically asking this for young people. I mean, there are a lot of these youngsters
02:21wanting to make a mark in the IPL, but it's the IPL. How do you deal with pressure? All of a sudden,
02:26when there are no, you know, television cameras, you know, domestic game to 50 television cameras
02:33and 1 billion people watching, and it's a very different ballgame, even if there are no fans in
02:38the stands, the pressure is humongous. How does one deal with that? Well, it depends totally on the
02:43individual, Boreal. Because if a youngster is mentally strong, and if he's a keen lover,
02:50or keen, in fact, learner, I must say, then obviously, he will learn along the period
02:57from where he started in IPL. But still, I want to see all the youngsters
03:01showing more consistent performance in this edition of IPL. Because it's important for a lot of youngsters
03:11to be consistent. Because a lot of players have been shown faith by the franchise owners.
03:17But we all know that when the crunch situation comes, when the player is under pressure, when the
03:21team needs them to perform or hit the winning run, or for that matter, bowl a dot ball under
03:29pressure or give a one-run under pressure, they succumb to that pressure. And somehow, they are not
03:35consistently successful in that situation. That's what I want to see in this edition of IPL. Because
03:41every edition, I see one or two players emerging from IPL, Indian players, young players.
03:48But this year, I want to see more players. But for that, they have to be very, very well prepared.
03:53You have to be mentally strong to deal with situations, obviously, when the pressure comes in.
03:59Because when they see around, so many international players coming together, sharing the dressing room with them.
04:06There are times when they just go over the floor, basically. You know how it is, basically, when
04:12international players come into the fray, the team bonding and all. At times, young players tend to
04:19spend more time towards them, rather than focusing on their individual stuff. Which later on, shows on the field.
04:25I mean to say, you got to be very disciplined. You got to be within yourself. You got to be in your zone only.
04:31And what the team requires for you to do. So I believe, it's not easy. Because sharing the
04:37dressing room with greats, obviously, and IPL is such a big platform. You know, someone like me,
04:42who has a strike rate of 118, which is obviously not bad. But compared to IPL, it's slow. It's a thing
04:49which we have to see. The players have to come and be consistent.
04:53Manoj, if I can get to Virat, the person specifically. I mean, you know,
04:59leaders, 2016, 400s, you know, 900 runs and all that. But the trophy still eludes him. Do you think
05:07that this year, his team, Royal Challengers of Bangalore, really have the best possible chance?
05:12I mean, with ABD keeping, you don't need Parthiv at the top. You have Adam Zampa now for your spin
05:17along with Poshy Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal and all of that. So you've got genuine good spin options.
05:22Navdeep is a better bowler. He's evolved over the years. So the bowling line-up,
05:27Mohamed Siraj, it's not bad at all. You've got good batting options as well. Is RCB under Virat
05:33the best possible prepared side in their history? I mean, is this the best one that you think?
05:38See, they have got a team to obviously succeed this year. There is no doubt about that. Because
05:45the players who you just mentioned are quality players. You know, the game is happening in UAE.
05:50And in the later part of the tournament, you'll see the pitchers being tied. And it will slow down
05:57massively. Which we have always seen in the case where games are played in UAE. So all the spinners
06:03which you just mentioned will come in to play. Chahal, Vashi. I want to see Adam Zampa do well.
06:09But the way he was bowling in the last couple of T20s against England, I don't see him in a
06:15good rhythm. But he can obviously change very quickly just about the release of the ball and
06:20the pitchers assisting. Then only he will obviously come into the fray. I would say
06:25they have the team. But again, I'll come down to the under-situation where the pressure is there.
06:31They have to deliver. And their fast bowlers will play a very big role which we have not seen
06:37over a period of time consistent enough. When they had Mitchell Stark, they had a little bit
06:43of success in the depth over. And you know, before the tournament was announced or the schedule was
06:50announced, Chahal made a statement that their death bowling is something which is lacking them
06:55behind as far as their trophy winning is concerned. So when a player who has played so many years
07:01with that team, if he comes out and says their death bowling is a crisis, then obviously they
07:05have to look into it. But it's a great opportunity for Saini, Umesh and Siraj. They are all quality
07:12bowlers. But we all have to wait and watch how they deliver under pressure. Because under-pressure
07:17situations, I do see they fail in execution department. When I say execution, it boils
07:26down to the yorkers, slow ones and unclever thinking of changing of pace. Is that something
07:32that the Chennai Super Kings do well, Manoj? This year specifically, how do you rate them? Because of
07:37one, Kovid. Number two, Suresh Raina. Number three, Harbhajan Singh. Do you think they will be more
07:43under pressure and the challenge will be that much more for an MS Dhoni? I mean, how do you see the
07:48Chennai Super Kings? Because again, they have the spinners and somebody like a Bravo who is a
07:53beautiful exponent of the slower ball can use the conditions in the UAE. Obviously, the Chennai Super
07:58Kings and obviously, Mumbai Indians are the two balanced sides which we see in IPL. And just
08:04because of the quality of players which they have and the experience which they bring along with the
08:08players. And Chennai Super Kings, obviously, it's a massive blow that Suresh Raina is not going to be
08:12the part from the very first. And also, Harbhajan is going to miss out. And we know the condition
08:17in UAE that pitchers will obviously, will see the spinners. So, Harbhajan, obviously, we know he had
08:24made a lot of good performances over the past few years where everybody was writing him off. But he
08:31came back very strongly. And you know, when the quality is there, obviously, the performance is
08:35bound to happen. But knowing MS Dhoni, obviously, he must have the backup players with him. And the
08:40kind of leader he is, obviously, we will see those two places will be filled by the reserve players.
08:48And I am sure he is someone who can take the best out of the reserve players, who can fill into the
08:55position of number 3. And Harbhajan Singh's place. Plus point, I wanted to tell you, they have the
09:01average player which we see is around 30. Which obviously shows the experience which they have in
09:09their players. And most of the international players. And also, the Indian players are very
09:13quality players who, under pressure, comes and delivers.
09:17How important is an IPL, Manoj, for a player like Shreyas Iyer? I was having a chat with Shreyas Iyer
09:23for one of my shows. And you know, the Australia series is coming. He wants to break into the test team.
09:29They want rhythm. He has obviously done well in the white-ball format. So, specifically, give me
09:33Shreyas Iyer and Kale Rahul. Because they are captains. Kings XI and Delhi Capitals. Same time,
09:40India team, Kale is now almost the first choice in white-ball. Shreyas, there for number 4.
09:45Both want to make a comeback. I mean, Shreyas break into Kale, make a comeback into the test team.
09:50Huge platform for the IPL. You have been there, done that. How do you see an IPL? How important
09:56will it be as a platform for these two guys? IPL, anyway, is a very big platform, Boriyada.
10:00And whoever does well, he gets recognised very quickly. And we have seen the likes of Yusuf
10:05Pathan from the very first, Manpreet Goni, Andriy Sharpand also coming into the line.
10:10Many other examples are there. But obviously, if they perform, it's all about confidence, which
10:16will give them a lot of confidence. And leading a franchise team, obviously, gives them extra
10:21responsibility as well. It's going to be very important and also an advantage for them too,
10:25if they can win the tournament. Because we all know that these two are young captains.
10:31My new Delhi captains, apart from him, have already a couple of captains in their ranks.
10:37Like Ashwin coming into the scene, and Ajinkya is also there. They are all former captains of
10:42their respective franchise team. So, they are going to help him as far as leading the team
10:47is concerned. But on a personal note, obviously, these guys are consistent performers in domestic
10:52cricket and also in IPL as well. If they can be consistent, obviously, the opportunity will
10:58definitely come. Because these players, obviously, KL and Sriyash are all in the
11:05contract list, which means that they are in the scheme of things. It's just about the performances,
11:11if they can be consistent. And if the slot is open for Sriyash, then definitely,
11:16selectors will take a call on that. But it's a great opportunity, I must say.
11:20You play domestic cricket. You scored a triple 100. You have made headlines. You took Bengal
11:27to the final. If I can ask you to sort of where that happens, as a seasoned player who has
11:33dominated domestic cricket, and give me an insight. I mean, people listening to this broadcast on
11:38Gulf News on Freehit, who are the young players, according to Manoj Tiwari, the Indian guys that
11:44people should watch out for in this edition? Because hardly anyone who can give me the kind
11:49of insight you have. Because you play. I mean, you are there. You're right there. So ringside
11:54in domestic cricket. Who are the players, for example, I should watch out for?
11:57There are very few players, to be honest, Gauri Yadav, who catches my eye, to be honest. And I
12:03don't get impressed very easily. But there are a couple of guys which I have seen represented
12:09India U19 in the World Cup. Priyam Garg is one of the players from UP. And I believe he is in
12:17Sunrisers, I guess. He was the captain of the team. He looks like a quality player. And apart
12:24from him, Manipal Lomror is one of them. And apart from these two players, I see my teammates,
12:35Ishan Porel, who are going to make an impact as well. And there was one guy, which I was mentioning
12:41in my interviews, about this person, who is Akash Deep. He is a fast bowler who can
12:48tonk a ball. And he represents Bengal. I have seen him in very close quarters. And I somehow
12:54find that franchises have missed out on picking him into the main squad. He is with the team
13:02to UAE as a net bowler. But down the line, you will see, remember, do remember the name Akash
13:09Deep. He will make a mark. And I believe he is an India material. He is very similar to how
13:13Mohammad Sami, when he came to Bengal, and he looked like…
13:18Big words, Manoj. Big words.
13:19Yeah, it is a big word. It's a big word and an observation which obviously I have seen closely.
13:27He is a match-winner. And you will see, not only IPL. If Indian selectors keep him
13:35under the loop or the pool of 20 bowlers, then definitely, we can see him representing India
13:44as well. But mind you, whatever I have seen him, Borya, is in the domestic cricket. From domestic
13:50cricket, now it's been six months. So the observation which I have did was, till the last,
13:56what I have seen him. I don't know what he has done over a period of five to six months.
14:01If he has worked really hard, then definitely, we will see him doing well.
14:04Last two questions, Manoj. One, Shahbaz Ahmed, he has played with you,
14:07did a very good season for Bengal. Do you see him also as a good prospect?
14:12Yes, definitely. It is going to be a learning year for him in IPL because he will be a little
14:17bit of pressure because it's going to be a first time for me. And representing a royal challenger,
14:23Bangalore, it's not always easy. At the same time, if a player can learn from the greats like
14:31AB, Virat Kohli, then obviously, he will grow as an individual and as a cricketer. Because
14:36if you are a keen learner, then obviously, it will help. But as far as his performances are
14:41concerned, he did really well for Bengal this season. But I would say, he is a great prospect.
14:47But he will take a little bit of time compared to what I have said about the other two players.
14:53IPL is also about the razzmatazz, the fan, the 50,000 screaming, all of that. This time,
14:59it's not that. Will that impact performance? Like Virat Kohli lifts himself with fans,
15:05like you guys thrive when people get behind you. Will that impact performance in any way?
15:11I won't say it will impact the performances. But yeah, obviously, there are a couple of
15:18individuals who like crowd support and that vibe when they are out there in the middle. Which
15:24obviously, enhances their performances to a certain extent. But I am sure, when every player obviously
15:31steps onto the playing arena, they don't think about the crowd much. Because you got to be
15:35focused on the job which is at hand. But it's something which they need to be used to it.
15:41Because the early, the better for them. Because it's going to be something new which they have
15:47not done previously. But as far as performance is concerned, I don't think it's going to make
15:52a massive impact. But yeah, certain players will obviously miss out on the vibe which they
15:58get from the crowd. Thank you very much, Manoj. As I said, I will let you go. Because I know
16:02you've got a lot on your plate. Once again, I appreciate you joining me. And I want to put
16:07this on record. Manoj Tiwari had a family bereavement very few days back. To do that,
16:15to take time out and do this for me means a lot to me. And that's what sort of shows the
16:20relationship we have. It's family. And I'm sure people loved hearing him on Free Hit
16:27here on Gulf News. Manoj, many more to come. More strength to you. More glamour to you. You're looking
16:32super again. Most stylish in that sense. New hairstyle. I will catch up with you very soon.
16:38Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep playing with Max and yourself. Thank you very much for having me.