Albert Tuti Patriots spinner speaks about return of Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund

Albert Tuti Patriots spinner Aushik Srinivas, who was the first bowler to bowl consecutive maiden overs in the India Cements TN Premier League, spoke exclusively to the tournament’s website after his team’s 33-run win against Madurai Super Giants at Chennai on Tuesday.

On his opening spell inclusive of two maiden overs.

We had been planning to go for wickets, so I just tried to follow the game-plan. Also, I always try to pick wickets, and thankfully everything worked out really well.

Did anyone give you any advice prior to the game?

I had a short chat with Kaushik as he had batted really well on this wicket. He told me to bowl at my normal speed – a tip that was helpful.

How does it feel to be in the semifinals?

The tournament is still not over, but we’re happy that we qualified. Also, we still have a task at hand, but then it feels really great! After our fourth game, we had a chat as we thought we could still do it. Thankfully, we did it, and with a good run-rate as well.

What are your plans for Dindigul Dragons ahead of the semifinal?

We will just go there (Tirunelveli) and see what we have to do. Also, we haven’t played there for the past seven to eight days, so we will plan accordingly.

Will the return of Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund help?

I think in terms of experience DK has been playing since the inception of the IPL, so he adds a lot of value to the team. Abhinav is also a very experienced batsman as he has played for India and also has hundred first-class games under his belt. And if we consider his (Mukund’s) experience of playing for CSK and RCB, then we have a chance to win the semi-final. These two players bring immense value to the team which I feel we lacked in the first four games.

On the experience of playing in the India Cements TN Premier League

It’s been great as we get to play under the lights, in front of huge crowds, and also learn what handling pressure is all about. I’ve learnt a lot thanks to the India Cements TN Premier League as well as the TNCA.