TNPL 2016: Youngsters can gain experience just by watching big names play, says Scott Styris

Scott Styris in action for New Zealand

Scott Styris spoke exclusively to the India Cements Tamil Nadu Premier League website on Friday at the NPR College ground, Natham, Dindigul about the tournament, cricket in the districts and more. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Your thoughts on the tournament so far..

It has been fantastic and the standard of cricket has been great. The tournament is an opportunity for young players to come through and the tournament has most certainly done that.

Do you see any players, in particular, playing the next level/IPL in the coming years?

Two in particular, but of course plenty of time for the others to step up as well. I have been impressed by power hitting of the openers especially, but N Jagadeesan has been phenomenal. There is also T Natarajan who is pretty impressive.

Advice to the youngsters who have been warming the benches...

They just need to keep watching, learning and listening because there is a lot of experience around them. They will get an experience just by watching the bigger names in other teams play. If they keep learning and listening from the coaches and when they do get the chance, they’d need to make sure that they are ready to go. They will keep getting better because this is a step up because there is TV, camera, lights. These things will be new to some of these players and it is important that they keep learning.

Any team, other than Dindigul, that has impressed you?

The way they are playing, the LYCA Kovai Kings deserve to be arguably the second favorites in this competition. If that is the case, it will a good final between these two teams.

How have you been enjoying your trips to the districts of Tamil Nadu? 

I have absolutely loved the experience so far. I was a little bit nervous about coming to the districts but it has been easy and it has been great. It has also helped that we have been working every day in doing this. So the weather has been fantastic, the hotels have been great and the people, very friendly.

Your thoughts on the crowd...

It is a general impression that every crowd in India is very knowledgeable. That seems to be the advice from wherever we go. They respect players, more than anything. Most of them are knowledgeable and we do not get the same level of abuses for a player, especially as a foreign player coming to India when compared to Australia or England or South Africa. I think the players enjoy playing in India for this reason. If you do well, the crowd will applaud and if you play poorly, they look forward to your next match.