New Delhi: He has led from the front when it mattered the most and Jammu and Kashmir skipper Perveez Rasool says his team's historic feat of reaching the quarter finals of the Ranji Trophy was a "special one" and will motivate the players more.
"I can't explain you my feeling at the moment. We are among the top eight states in Ranji Trophy. The boys are just itching to meet Punjab and let me tell you that we are not scared of any opponents although they have Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh in their ranks. We are ready for a fight," Rasool told PTI over phone from Agartala.
For Rasool, the qualification for the quarter-final and the fact that they will be playing in 'B' group was a "matter of pride".
"This performance promotes us to B group next year in which we will be locking horns with the teams which were in 'Elite' group earlier. This means that we would need to work even harder as a team. From here, the challenge to elevate ourselves to the next level starts," says Jammu and Kashmir's first international cricketer.
Rasool played a stellar role in Jammu and Kashmir's qualification as he first scored 83 to get the first innings lead and then ran through the Tripura line-up to take seven wickets which ensured that they enjoyed a better run quotient of (+1.006) than third placed Goa (+1.005).
"As a captain, it is my duty to perform in crunch situation. I am happy that I could peak at the right time," said 24-year-old Rasool, who has taken 21 wickets and scored 550 runs in the current season.
Asked about the run quotient, Rasool laughed.
"You can't believe that I was sitting with a pen and paper and doing all sorts of calculations about how we can qualify for the knock-outs. I was doing all sorts of permutations about what score we can get Tripura out. I am happy that our plans worked well today," Rasool said.
