Working with Rahul Dravid at Delhi Daredevils made me a better batsman: Sam Billings

Pune: England wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings says working with greats like Rahul Dravid in the IPL has made him a much improved player of spin bowling.

Billings, who is into his second season at Delhi Daredevils, went to the extent of saying that past year has seen him improve like never before.

"There is no doubt that in the last one year, the improvement (I have felt in my game) has been the biggest of my career. Getting to know your game in different conditions is always a learning experience.

"Playing quality spin for six weeks (in the IPL), you learn a lot out of that. Anyway you are always looking to try to improve and perform. Of course, the schedule is hectic," said Billings, referring to national duty and time he spends playing leagues across the globe.

Asked how much he has learnt from the likes of team mentor Dravid and head coach Paddy Upton, Billings replied: "He (Dravid) is one of the best to have played the game. So there is lots to learn from him and even from Paddy. It is always a great experience to pick their brains. It is a huge honour actually. You are always learning from people of that stature," he said.

Talking about the team composition, he said Daredevils have a well-balanced squad and it was disappointing to lose the tournament opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Yeah, very disappointed with the result. Real shame to not get over the line. We are focused on the next game now. There are lots of positives to take from the previous game.

"Every team is strong in this competition, all have power hitters and quality spinners. But if we turn up to play to our potential, we can beat any team."

Billings added that team not only has a good pace attack, it also has quality spinners in Jayant Yadav and Shahbaz Nadeem.