Mumbai: These are exciting times for young pacer Barinder Sran. In a short span of time the Punjab youngster has had a seamless tranisition from boxer to cricket. The left-arm pacer, who will walk out for Punjab in the quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare tournament later this week, is all set for his maiden journey down under with the Indian team for the five-match ODI series starting January 12.
The 23-year-old said he began to admire legendary pacers Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan once started to play the game professionally and understood the game better. “I started to watch Zak pa’s bowling and Wasim Akram’s videos a lot. I haven’t had the chance to talk to Zak pa but I did have a brief conversation with Wasim sir for about 15-20 minutes. It was about how to operate with the old ball and which areas to bowl in from over and around the stumps. He said that he would teach me properly when we meet in the nets some day,” Sran was quoted as saying on bcci.tv.
Sran added being a left-armer gave him that extra advantage. “There are many fast bowlers in the line right now, but being a left-arm pacer has pushed me ahead. It would be great if I can fill that void in the Indian team and lend a bit of variety to the bowling attack,” he said.
Sran mentioned that conversing with the likes of Tim Southee and James Faulkner during his stint with Rajasthan Royals helped him immensely. “They were guiding me, telling me how things work in terms of bowling and field placements. Rahul (Dravid) sir boosted my confidence and encouraged me all the time. All this mattered a lot to mem” he said. On the prospect of playing in Australia, Sran said: “It is a dream of every fast bowler to play on quick wickets with bounce and in conditions that help the pacers. If I get the opportunity to play, it would be a great experience to play in Australia.”
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