In this episode of 'Free Hit', a series of exclusive video interviews with players, officials and TV pundits from the Indian Premier League, Boria Majumdar chats with Kings XI Punjab fast bowler Ishan Porel.
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00:00from my own home state, from my own city, Ishan Porel, I'd love to see him perform.
00:05I'd love to see Ishan Porel perform in the IPL. Ishan, how has the experience been so far?
00:15Hello and welcome to this very special episode of Free Hit from Gulf News. And today my guest
00:20is someone who I've seen grow. Ishan Porel bowled wonderfully well in that Under-19 World Cup for
00:25India. Superb campaign. Practically we demolished every opponent in that campaign, winning the
00:31trophy. And Ishan Porel was brilliant. After an injury, the way he came back and make his mark.
00:36Just a week or so ago, I was having a chat with Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, and they were praising
00:42the way Ishan Porel is bowling in the nets in the United Arab Emirates, from my own home state,
00:47from my own city, Ishan Porel. I'd love to see him perform. I'd love to see Ishan Porel perform
00:53in the IPL. Ishan, how has the experience been so far? The experience has been good till now,
00:58because nearly UAE is still hot. There is a lot more sweating that we're used to back in
01:06in Kolkata. The heat is pretty much, right now we are pretty much coped with it. And the training
01:11sessions and everything is going well. And the preparation till now, it's very good. And looking
01:16forward and excited to the IPL. Mayank was telling me you are bowling with a lot of rhythm. Did you
01:21do some physical training, fitness training during lockdown? What was it like? And how did
01:26you keep yourself ready for the IPL? It has been like, I have been training, but it was not easy
01:31to train in those conditions back in India. It's because there was no such facilities that
01:41go out of the home and do all training easily. So, yeah, it was tough. But I managed to do somehow
01:46in my home. Whenever I get chances and with all the permission I've taken and with all the safety
01:52measures that I've taken, I've been to the ground, I've been to a couple of gym sessions. But mostly
01:57I've done training a lot in the grounds, in the open grounds. I've done training by my own. So,
02:02yeah, that has helped me a lot, you can say. And Ishan, Anil Kumble as coach, one of the greatest
02:08Indian cricketers, if not the greatest match-winner India has produced. Talk to me about that.
02:12Anil sir has been fabulous till now. Because what happened, in a practice match, I bowled
02:17a no-ball. So, I was pretty much upset about that. Because after bowling a no-ball, my over
02:23went badly. And it was like, I had given away 12 runs in that over. So, for that reason, I was
02:30upset. And after the match, I went to the practice when it was optional. And after three days,
02:36our friend did well. So, Anil sir just came to me and just told, just calm down, Ishan. You've
02:41just bowled a no-ball. That's not a big issue and you are putting too much pressure on yourself.
02:46Because at the end of that, he has told us that it's all about the execution. It's not about the
02:51no-ball. I know you have bowled a no-ball, but it's still okay. It's fine. You can keep calm and
02:56work on it with a clever mind. But I was just forcing too much to the net sessions. But he just
03:01came to me and calmed me down and told that, you just do not need to put so much pressure on
03:10yourself. Just keep calm and you are doing good. So, that has been the impact of Anil sir till now.
03:17Because he is so much disciplined and so much into cricket. For a youngster like me,
03:23it's always a blessing in disguise to have Anil sir as our head coach.
03:26Just to apologize to our viewers, internet at Ishan's end is a little unstable. But that's
03:33par for the course in this new normal, isn't it? I mean, this is the new normal. Otherwise,
03:37Ishan and I would be sitting and having a cup of coffee, talking in Bangla and doing this interview.
03:41Unfortunately, that is not the time. That is not the time, maybe in 2021 when Sarantha facilitates
03:47this. We will be sitting across the table and having coffee. But for the moment, digital,
03:51that's why it's a little unstable. Don't mind. There's a lot of Bangalore in your team. So,
03:56Mayank Agarwal tells me that he has asked Mandeep Singh to teach in Bangla.
04:00And KL, Rahul, Mayank Agarwal. Tell me that. How come so much of Bangalore in Kings XI?
04:07And does that actually help? Because these guys have played great cricket together.
04:10Yeah, obviously, it helps me as a cricketer. Because I have played a lot of cricket with
04:17Mayank bhai. Because he has been with me in Day 8. I have played a lot of cricket with him. So,
04:25the bonding is certainly helping. And I know Gautam bhai, Sachit, Karun bhai, everyone I know.
04:30Because I have played a certain amount of cricket with them. But KL bhai doesn't play in that
04:36domestic circuit. So, I haven't played so much with him. But yeah, the bonding is good. And
04:42everything is right in place. And the team is in good shape, you can say. Because those Karnataka
04:49people are used to take pressure. Because they play the finals regularly in the domestic circuit.
04:56So, yeah, it is helping us a lot to gain experience. They are also sharing some of
05:03their experience and some of their matches that they have gone through in their career. So, yeah,
05:08it is helping in a case. And KL, Rahul, Ishan, I mean, how is it like
05:12bowling to him? Perhaps one of the best T20 batsmen in the world going round on form,
05:17your captain. And according to me, perhaps the player to watch out for in this IPL. Hungry,
05:22because captaincy. Hungry, because now the India team's spot is his own. Hungry,
05:27because after what has happened in 2019, he is a reinvented individual. Your thoughts on bowling
05:32to KL Rahul? It's been tough bowling to him. Because as we all know, he is right now the
05:38number four batsman in ICC ranking. So, bowling to him is a great opportunity for me. Because
05:44looking forward to the IPL, I need to bowl to the batsman likely to him. If I bowl to Virat
05:53Kohli, if I bowl to David Bourne, so most of them are attacking players. And I need to bowl
05:58them in the powerplay. So, bowling to KL Bhai is helping me a lot. Because he is playing many
06:03shots and which is helping me to know my game better and make a plan for the other batsmen.
06:09Having KL Bhai as a captain is really helpful for me as a youngster.
06:14What is Chris Gayle like, Ishan? Is he fun? What is he like in the dressing room?
06:23I just can say he is a bit like an atom bomb every time. Because he keeps on throwing all
06:29the jokes around in the ground. Last year, we were having a fun session in our team room.
06:34So, he was… We were playing a TT game. So, he was just
06:40funnying around everyone. And he makes the environment lively. And he keeps on charging
06:45the boys every time. Although he will be 41 in this coming month. But still,
06:52he has some great boys going into him. Have you taken his wicket so far in the nets?
06:57I have bowled a couple of times to him. I have once got him caught behind in Sharjah, maybe.
07:04In the practice, because of Sharjah, I have got him out, caught behind.
07:08Lovely. And you should actually go and celebrate like a Bengali celebration in front of…
07:14Do that. Glenn Maxwell in superb form. KL in good form. Good balance in your side.
07:20Anil there. I think Kings XI is looking quite balanced, isn't it?
07:24Our side is more and much balanced this year. Because as you see, I am playing the
07:30IPL for the first time and I am getting great vibes around the team. Whenever I am going to
07:36practice, be it in a team meeting or a gym session, I am always feeling like a home atmosphere.
07:42Because look, at the end of the day, you need to stay with this team for near about three months.
07:47And in this quarantine, in this bubble, you need to stay for three months. When I go out,
07:51you are going to come around. It's not easy. But the vibe and the atmosphere that the team has set
07:58up, it's like a homely atmosphere. You can go to everyone and talk to everyone. You won't feel
08:04like a newcomer because you are playing the IPL for the first time. And also, the team is in great
08:11balance. Because Nikolas Kuran, if you see, he has performed well in the CPL. Mudiv has also had
08:16good CPLs. Toor Maxwell is doing well. Kheer Chaudhary has done well. KL Bhai, as we all know.
08:23So, topping up everything, Shammi Bhai is also there. Sheldon Cottrell. So, many big names.
08:28And hopefully, some of the youngsters like me would come up to the platform and like to
08:35give everything to the team. And hopefully, we will do well and qualify in the playoffs.
08:39Ishan, I'll finish it there. As I said, I wish you all the very best. Have a great IPL. And I'm
08:45actually predicting Teams 11 to definitely make the playoffs. After that, it's anyone's game. But
08:50definitely, you have the team to do that. Thank you so much, Ishan. Thanks a lot.
08:54Thank you. Thank you, Bhai.