FREE HIT - An IPL 2020 talk show with Boria Majumdar: International cricketer Jhulan Goswami - video Dailymotion

Gulf News

FREE HIT - An IPL 2020 talk show with Boria Majumdar: International cricketer Jhulan Goswami

Transcript

00:00When the auctions were held, none of us knew that the IPL will move to the UAE and to Dubai.

00:04So teams were formed. But now, the weather will be hot, there will be a lot of heat,

00:11spinners will come into play. A lot of these things will change because of the move from

00:16India to Dubai. Your thoughts on how that will impact the tournament?

00:20Today, I have pleasure in introducing to you one of the greatest to have played the game

00:30among women, the highest wicket-taker in the 50-over format, one of India's stalwarts,

00:35one of the greatest legends to have bowled for India, Jhulan Goswami, a very dear friend.

00:40Thank you very, very much, Jhulan, for joining me on this broadcast, on this free hit show.

00:46First things first, how excited are you that the Indian Premier League is happening?

00:52It's been an honour, always been an honour to talking to you, Boriyada. And absolutely,

00:57you know, after certain five and a half months of lay-off, we all are looking forward for coming

01:04back to cricket field. As an athlete, you want to go back to the ground, you want to play,

01:10you want to perform, you want to do a lot of training. So yes, we all are looking forward

01:15and we all are excited. Thanks to BCCI, they are hosting this WIPL and IPL. I'm talking about

01:21women's cricket, so that's why I mentioned WIPL. But IPL, WIPL, we all are grateful as a cricketer,

01:28as an athlete that BCCI is taking great initiative. Jhulan, both of us are in Calcutta and things

01:35aren't normal yet. I mean, both of us know that. But we have been constantly talking,

01:40you are doing physical training, you have a regime plan. Can you give my audience an insight

01:45that when are you planning to start training, you know, your regime and how difficult it was

01:52in lockdown and now, obviously, coming back to full-steam cricket? Give me a sense of that.

01:58Initially, it was difficult. Early stage of lockdown, it was difficult. But after a certain

02:04time, we create a certain setup back home and we do a lot of all these exercises, training,

02:14all these protocols we maintain. Best thing was, that's why I said, BCCI is always taking care of

02:19the players. Immediately, they create a group and there is a physio, there was a trainer,

02:25coaches, they are involved. They used to give us a lot of programs. They used to keep monitoring

02:29our process. So, that part was there. And after that, you know, Unlock 1, Unlock 2, Unlock 3,

02:38now we are in Unlock 3 phase. So, yes, I started my training, outdoor training. Honestly speaking,

02:44you know, in Calcutta, the monsoon is on. So, unfortunately, so far, I haven't bowled much

02:50because of the weather not permitting. But that also will come very soon to cricket also.

02:58When the auctions were held, none of us knew that the IPL will move to the UAE and to Dubai.

03:02So, teams were formed. But now, the weather will be hot. There will be a lot of heat,

03:08spinners will come into play. A lot of these things will change because of the move from

03:14India to Dubai. Your thoughts on how that will impact the tournament? That is going to be most

03:19interesting part at this IPL. Because when that auction was happening, everybody picked their

03:24team, you know, based on Indian wicket, Indian weather, Indian soil, everything. Suddenly,

03:29because of this pandemic, IPL has shifted to UAE. So, yeah, this is going to be a challenge.

03:38Every team now, definitely, heavily, they are going to rely on the spinners. Because spinners

03:43will play a big role in UAE. Because in the past, whenever we saw any test match, ODI or T20

03:50tournament in UAE, the spinners play a big role. And because the weather is so hot over there,

03:58so that's why wicket does not have that much moisture in a clay. So, it's become a very dry,

04:04flat wicket. So, spinners are going to play a big role. But now, if you have quality spinners,

04:09wrist spinners, definitely, those spinners are going to be the key for any franchise team. And

04:16we all are looking forward for that. Because that's going to be the most interesting part.

04:21Because when you are picking up the team, you are picking up a medium pace,

04:27fast bowler. But now, it's an absolutely changing part. Totally, your plan has to be changed. Now,

04:34you have to rely a bit on spinners. You will be in a stadium. Last year, for example,

04:38when you played the WIPL in Rajasthan, there were thousands of people queuing up to watch your game.

04:43This time, at least for the starting point, starting period, few weeks, towards the latter

04:48part, BCCI wants some crowds. But at least for a start, there will be no crowds. Do you think

04:52the players will feel that as a kind of a very different kind of thing? Or when you step inside

04:57the ground, the intensity will mean that, no, the standard of cricket will be right up there. How

05:01much will that impact the teams? As a player, that's not important. The important thing is

05:08your performance, your commitment, your effort. That's going to make a lot of counts. Yes,

05:14we will feel bad for the fans that fans are not coming. We are not able to entertain them.

05:20Individually, I don't think that's going to make a lot of difference to me. For me,

05:24it's going to be the most important part is go there and perform and play for the team. And

05:31try to do well each and every day. Because each and every performance will count for your upcoming

05:38series. Because you have to think about your future. There is Australia series,

05:42then there is England series. If you perform well, consistently, if you do well, your name

05:48will be there in the Indian teams. So, I think players will be more focused on their performance.

05:54And the bar they have, standard of the bar is here. They are going to be above on that.

05:59How tough will it be? Because none of these players have played cricket in the last six

06:03months. Whoever I have spoken to has said, some of them, for example, told me they have not even

06:06lifted a bat. So, now they will come back and get into full steam training after quarantine and all

06:12of this. And then, the bio bubble and full practice. Especially for someone like you,

06:16who is a fast bowler. Bharat Arun was telling me that for fast bowlers, it will be even more

06:21difficult to come back into rhythm. How are you seeing that? How are you seeing the tournament,

06:25sort of, players leading into the top? Million dollar question. As a bowler,

06:31last six months, you did not bowl. You did not train that way, the way you want to train.

06:36Somehow, you are just managing stuff while walking over there. But the most important

06:41thing is, if you don't have good rhythm, there will be a lot of niggles might start. A lot of

06:46issues will be there. Already, that weather is pretty different. It's going to be very hot.

06:51So, it's going to be a big challenge for fast bowler. I have no doubt about that.

06:55But at the same time, we all are professional athletes. We know how to take care of all these

07:00things. Every team has their physio trainer. They already started their process. And I think,

07:07before they play the tournament, that they might go to play a few practice matches also. Because

07:13what you said, a few players did not start, hold the bat for almost five months, six months. So,

07:20the most important thing, if you don't do the batting or bowling, the important thing is,

07:26if you do good quality training, you can still manage with that. Because the skills you have,

07:33that's on your muscle. But training is going to play a big role.

07:37While we are all celebrating IPL and the tournament is back and all of that,

07:44it's a big thing for everybody. For you, for me, for the media, for fans, for everybody.

07:48David Warner was speaking to me the day the Australian team left for England. And he told

07:53me that, oh, you know what, this is very different. I said, why? He said, because I

07:57have to leave Candice and the girls behind. They can't come with me. We will get into a bubble.

08:02And I really don't know how we'll manage for the next 80-85 days in that bubble,

08:06because we can't step out. We can't play golf. We can't do anything in the bubble in Dubai.

08:12So, how tough will it be for the players mentally? It's going to be challenging. It's not going to

08:17be easy, you know, stepping away from your family. We all love our family. We want to stay

08:22with our family most of the time. But somehow, down the line, as a professional athlete,

08:28it's our role to, you know, adapt to certain situations. I definitely feel it's going to be

08:34difficult. It's not easy, 80-85 days, not going outside. You're not going to have dinner outside.

08:42You're not able to go and spend time with your friends or family.

08:46Same thing with golf. Nowadays, a lot of cricketers play golf in the off-time.

08:51It's going to be difficult. But I think players are all professional. They know how to handle

08:56the situation. And I'm sure franchisee will take care of all small, small things. Because

09:00if players are not mentally fresh, if they are emotionally not, you know, connect with that

09:07thing, their performance will not come. I don't think it will be so much difficult. But yes,

09:13it's going to be very difficult. And at the same time, we have to adapt.

09:17Who will adapt to that situation? They will be in a top position immediately. Emotionally and

09:23if you're not sound, if you're not 100% in a position, definitely your performance will not

09:30be 100%. If anybody wants to take something from this discussion, the thing to take away

09:37from this discussion is positivity. Every time I have asked her a critical question,

09:42she has responded with an optimistic, positive answer. That's what you need to take from her.

09:48That's what the world needs at this point in time. We need to move beyond the gloom,

09:52the negativity, the despondency, the problem, and seek positive optimism in what she just said.

10:00It's an absolute pleasure, Arjun Rangoswami.

FREE HIT - An IPL 2020 talk show with Boria Majumdar: International cricketer Jhulan Goswami

Category

Transcript

Recommended