"Ashish Nehra is a 'vera level' human being" - R Sai Kishore sheds light on GT's historic IPL title triumph
After R Sai Kishore spent a few seasons on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bench, it seemed inevitable that a move away from the decorated franchise would transpire in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction.
A player of his quality didn't deserve to be on the sidelines, and although CSK attempted to reacquire the man they clearly had faith in, the Gujarat Titans (GT) were more willing to splash the cash.
Shelling out INR 3 crore, a massive increase from Sai Kishore's base-price purchase during the previous auction, the IPL newbies snapped up the services of one of the brightest young bowling talents in the country. He repaid the investment, scalping six wickets from five matches at an economy rate of 7.56 as GT cruised to the title in their maiden season.
GT started the season with four pace options, but as Hardik Pandya grew into his bowling role and the pitches started to slow down, they changed the composition of the playing XI. Often playing a batter light, the Titans threw the ball to the uncapped Sai Kishore, whose control and smarts led to him becoming the second spinner after Rashid Khan at the most crucial stage of the season.
Several GT players have been vocal about their appreciation for the team management, which placed ample emphasis on clear communication and keeping things simple.
Sai Kishore is no different. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, he showered praise on head coach Ashish Nehra and captain Hardik, calling them genuine human beings who carried out their leadership duties with grace and poise.
"The wickets in Mumbai were great and playing another spinner didn't make sense. I was an IPL newbie and they had more trust in me after I played two games. Ashish Nehra is a 'vera [different] level' human being; he's a very genuine guy.
"Hardik is also a very genuine guy. It was clearly communicated to me what they had in their heads. You need to think about the team when you're not playing, and it went well."
Coming into IPL 2022, Gujarat weren't among the favorites. In fact, it seemed like the new franchise would languish among the bottom places in the points table due to a supposedly fragile batting lineup and minimal bench strength. But GT were the surprise package in the league stage as they ran through their opposition to book their place in Qualifier 1 before going on to claim the crown.
Asked about the secret behind the Titans' unprecedented run to the title, Sai Kishore threw his weight behind the five-bowler strategy while elucidating that key players performed their roles to perfection.
"The players Gujarat trusted and picked performed extremely well, so weaknesses were minimized. The team was very well led by Hardik and when you have proper five bowlers, the combination is superb. You just need to score 160-170 runs and you know that the bowlers will defend it.
"I am a big fan of those teams that have five proper bowlers. The strategy worked really well for us. Four bowlers bowling 145 and the fifth was Rashid Khan. The batting clicked and therefore it was sorted."
"My career hasn't been about doing well in one season and making it to the IPL" - R Sai Kishore
Sai Kishore rubbed heads with the best in the business at CSK, but nothing can replicate the learnings garnered from time spent on the field. Following a successful season with GT, the 25-year-old is ready to build on the positive feedback he has received.
"I got a lot of good feedback from the IPL and some areas to work on as well. I've tried to work on that silently. Even though the learnings weren't blatant, I have an idea of what I have to do. It came off well in the TNPL [Tamil Nadu Premier League]. It's a great confidence booster to play five games in the IPL and do well."
Sai Kishore made his first-class debut back in 2017 and, while he has always been on an upward trajectory, his journey to the IPL hasn't been rapid. He has had to work hard at each level of cricket to climb, slowly but surely. The left-arm spinner is conscious of the fact that he can't rest easy now that he has made it to the prestigious league and believes he needs to stay on his toes throughout.
"The first time you play, people don't know you. The second time, maybe they'll read you better. But it's just about improving your skillset, being in that zone and sustaining it for a period of time. My career hasn't been about doing well one season and making the IPL; I've been in this grind for five-six years. It's a journey that'll go on forever."
After several years at the domestic level, Sai Kishore has molded himself into someone who isn't far from a call-up to the senior Indian squad. Having bowled to the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the Indian nets, he believes he has what it takes to succeed in international cricket.