It's a totally different experience: Mayank Tehlan

11th May 2008

Mayank Tehlan, the Delhi Daredevils batsman, yet to play a game in the IPL, says its a fulfilling experience to be a part of the IPL. In an exclusive interview with T20.com, Tehlan expresses happiness at having the opportunity to share the dressing room with stars of international cricket.

The Delhi-born says it is a great feeling to be playing around with the best players in the world. "It is a different experience to play, know and share the dressing room with international cricketers. If I get an opportunity, I would love to be there again" he said.

The 21-year old mentioned that playing in the IPL has been a good learning experience for him, as he gets to learn a lot from some of the greats of the modern day game. He also concedes that there is a lot of discussion between the seniors and juniors and that the seniors share a lot of the finer points of the game during practice sessions.

Although primarily a middle order batsman, Mayank Tehlan is also known to be a capable bowler. Talk about him maturing to become an all-rounder, and he quickly says, "Whenever I get a bowling opportunity, I try to cash on it. I want my team to trust me as a good bowler."

The right-hander is a natural striker of the cricket ball and says that he hasn't had to change his playing style too much to meet the requirements of the Twenty20 format. He believes shot selection is a very important factor to succeed in Twenty20 cricket. "In a 50-over game, you have time to get set, but in Twenty20, you don't have time to think. The quicker you pick the T20 style, it will better for that individual", he says.

When queried who his cricketing idol was, Tehlan conceded that he was not an ‘idol worship' kind of person, but enjoyed watching the likes of Ponting, Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers and Sehwag, primarily because of their attacking style of batting.

Asked if he was disappointed at not getting a chance yet, Mayank said he was definitely disappointed, but was taking solace from the fact that even a few of the international stars too were being benched. He said, "I am waiting for my chance and when I get my opportunity, I will prove myself."