IPL 7: Sunrisers Hyderabad is in reckoning for play-off berth, says Karn Sharma
New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad may be struggling for momentum in the Indian Premier League but leg-spinner Karn Sharma feels it is just a matter of two or three wins before his side is back in the reckoning for a play-off berth.
"We may be lying low, but it is a matter of two or three wins before we revive our campaign and reach the play-offs. It is unfortunate that we have not been able to win as many games but T20 cricket is such you can't really predict or plan," Karn told PTI in an interview.
Hitting the jackpot at the IPL players' auction this year by becoming the costliest buy - 3.75 crore - among the uncapped players, Karn is happy to have senior leggie Amit Mishra in the Sunrisers camp. "Amit bhai has always told me to back my strengths. He keeps telling me to motivate myself to perform better. He gives lot of tips on bowling as well," said Karn.
Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe (Rajasthan Royals) and off-spinner Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) have made a deadly impact in this edition as spinners continued to hold the aces in the shorter format.
Karn agreed that spinners do have an edge on a slower track. "Spinners do have the edge over fast bowlers. Especially on slower tracks where the ball stops on the batsmen, spinners have a bigger role to play. Other than that, I believe it's a level playing field. Anybody can emerge a champion on a particular day," opined Karn.
After Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn is the third cricketer from the western Uttar Pradesh town of Meerut to make his presence felt on the cash-rich league. Karn, 26, is happy to have city-mate Bhuvi in the Hyderabad team. "Having Bhuvneshwar in the team is a great help. We have lived and played together in Meerut as well. So we are a good support system for each other. It is nice to have somebody from your city to be alongside you in the dressing room," said Karn.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan has played Karn in all the six games with Jammu and Kashmir off-spinner Pervez Rasool warming the bench. Karn has lived up to his captain's faith by picking up five wickets and hopes to continue the good work. "It's good that Shikhar bhai has shown so much confidence in me. But want to keep the good work going and continue to impress my captain. He is a good captain, takes the right decisions at the right time and is always in control of the situation," said Karn.
The Railways all-rounder has got a century to his credit in first-class cricket but the left-handed batsman is not disappointed to be placed at No.8 in the Sunrisers batting order. "Cricket is a team game. It's important to go by the team decisions and perform in that space. I would have loved to bat higher up but there are many top players who deserve that slot because they are better than me," he said.
Just like any other professional cricketer, Karn also dreams of playing for India. But the all-rounder is focussed on his game and leaves the rest to fate. "Just like any other cricketer, playing for India is my ultimate aim. I am working towards it. Though I have not set a deadline for myself but hopefully my hard work will pay rich dividends and someday I will get an India cap," said a hopeful Karn.
Karn though refuses to buy the point of small town players having difficulty in finding success as compared to the big-city cricketers. "I don't think that a small town lad has more difficulty in climbing the success ladder than a big town player. I guess its just about grabbing your opportunities. I have always banked on hard work and never looked at any other factor," said a determined Karn.
