Hayden and Hussey used to call me ‘chotu'

9th May 2008

Viraj Kadbe is one of the youngest players in the Chennai Super Kings line-up.

Although he has yet to taste the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) fever live, he was interviewed by our on-field reporter about the turnover of events in his life after getting the call to be part of the Chennai team.

Questioned as to what his reaction was on getting a call from the Chennai Super Kings to play for their line-up, Kadbe said that he was very surprised and did not believe it at first. But after he digested the fact, he said that he started training very hard to keep up with the international standards set by the players in his team.

He said that in this format of the game, there is always pressure but you need to enjoy the pressure to succeed.

The 18-year-old lad, who represents the Vidharbha Cricket Association at the Ranji Trophy and Under-19 level, cites Sachin Tendulkar as his only cricketing idol.

He feels disappointed that the Master Blaster is nursing an injury but said that if he is fit to play the next time Mumbai square up against Chennai, it would truly be one of the biggest moments of his life playing against the Indian batting maestro.

He recalled the best moments in the dressing room were when his Australian teammates Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden were here. He said that the Australian duo was loads of fun in the dressing room and they used to call him ‘chotu'.

Having never seen him play, young Viraj was then asked to describe his style of playing. The youngster replied, "I play on a defensive mode because junior cricket is a four-day game. I play defensive and follow the basic technique."

On adapting to the IPL, Kadbe said, "This is another format so I'm trying to develop my batting. I'm trying to play new shots."

He felt that with the boundaries being small, it was a great opportunity for the batsmen to shine in this format of the game. However he said that bowlers will also taste success if only they think and bowl in the right areas.

The youngster could not find the right words to praise his Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying, "There are no words to describe him. The way he is as a captain and the way he treats the juniors is very beneficial to all of us."

Kadbe ended by saying that in the Twenty20 format of the game all the teams are good on paper and have a fifty-fifty chance of winning but the team that plays well on the given day will win.