IPL 2020 in UAE: Robin Uthappa unplugged
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00:00I actually truly believe. There's something inside me that believes that I have a World Cup left with me.
00:09Hello. A very warm welcome to all of you. Here we are welcoming our guest editor, Robin Udhapa of Rajasthan Royals.
00:17A person who has been there, done that in Indian cricket. Robin and his team-mates, they are still recovering from the Tevatiya heroics in Sharjah.
00:28That's the way this IPL has been going. I mean, if it had been the Tevatiya on Monday, it was Ishan Keshan and the rest yesterday.
00:38Now I'll introduce you to my colleague, Shyam Krishna, who incidentally is from Bangalore.
00:44So Shyam is going to pick your brains with a lot of Bangalore-related questions in our guest edition.
00:49That's wonderful. Hello, Mr. Shyam.
00:52Hi. Hi, Robin.
00:54I will let the floor to Shyam first. Shyam, shall we start with Tevatiya?
00:58I guess that is a pretty obvious question to ask. Because Robin, you had a ringside view of all the fireworks there.
01:04Tell us, take us through the Tevatiya innings. What you told him, what he told you and how it came about.
01:10He didn't say much. He was, you know, obviously when I went in the bat, he wasn't in a good state.
01:17Because, you know, he was really trying hard to score runs, but he wasn't able to score runs.
01:21One of the things I said in the dugout is, guys, it's very easy for us to kind of, you know, be upset with him and be angry with him.
01:28But right now, what he needs is our support. So let's make sure that we are supporting him as much as we can.
01:33So when I went out to bat, one of the first things I said to him was that, you know, don't worry about what's happened.
01:39Let's try and see if we can just focus on, you know, watching the ball.
01:43Because when you are trying really hard and nothing is working, you suddenly lose focus on the most basic things of batting.
01:50And that can be as simple as, you know, just tracking the ball in the bowler's hand.
01:55And I said, don't worry about, you know, anything about scoring runs or anything. Just look at the ball.
02:00This is what the bowler will look to do. This is what his variations are.
02:04So I told him that, you know, he bowls a decent bouncer. He bowls, you know, Cottrell bowls an off-cutter slower ball.
02:11Maybe for you, he may try and bowl a leg-cutter one. I don't know. But just be ready for it.
02:15But make sure you are watching the ball.
02:16To give credit to Rahul at that point, he was very receptive to what I was sharing with him.
02:21What goes through your mind when the timing deserts you?
02:24You know, it can happen to everybody. It happened to the best of batsmen.
02:27Yeah, it happens. It's a part and parcel. It's like any other human being having a bad day at the office, right?
02:33At the end of the day, we do a work that is exposed to the world and for judgment.
02:38And the thing is, our work also brings a lot of people joy in their lives.
02:42I don't look at it as a disadvantage or a bad thing. But it's actually, it's something that's just there in the public domain.
02:48Our job is there in the public domain. So it's not like, you know, when you all are doing your jobs,
02:51it's like someone's like zooming in cameras and looking, noticing every little aspect of your job.
02:56And there are days when you're trying to be creative, when you're trying to do something and then it just doesn't flow.
03:01You know, that flow is just not there.
03:04Fortunately for us in sport, there are certain cues that we can fall back on.
03:07And sometimes you need someone from the external to kind of remind you and kind of just give you that one kind of spark
03:15that will rekindle that light of connection between your game and where you want it to be.
03:20How are you looking forward to the season?
03:22I mean, as I said that you've been there, done that.
03:25We remember the 2014 season of yours here with KKR.
03:28I mean, you didn't put a foot wrong kind of a thing. That was it.
03:33So how are you looking forward to the season with your new franchisee?
03:36Well, I am truly excited about the new franchise and also our prospects in this tournament.
03:42I think the fact that we are one of the most underrated teams, if not the most underrated team in this tournament
03:48gives us, I am sorry, a pretty good advantage.
03:51I think we have got a very decent bowling lineup.
03:55We have got a very, very decent batting lineup.
03:57We bat pretty deep as a unit.
03:59For me, I think our prospects are pretty bright.
04:02Having said that, I think it's also important for us to kind of respect the momentum.
04:06We've created for ourselves.
04:07I think IPL is a tournament where momentum plays a big factor.
04:10I think as a unit, we've worked really hard over the last month,
04:13especially the Indian contingent and a couple of foreign players who came in almost a month ago,
04:18came in here and worked really hard on our skills, adjusting, acclimatizing to this place.
04:24You're fifth franchisee.
04:25So you've been at both sides of the spectrum.
04:28You've taken somebody like KKR to the championship in 2014.
04:33You've been with a successful team like Mumbai, Pune possibly.
04:38It was short-lived.
04:39So, that's a different story altogether.
04:42And also, RCB.
04:43So, if we ask you to sum up this journey.
04:47And you are also one of the highest scorers of IPL, in the IPL history.
04:53So, how do you look back at this journey, in a nutshell, if you can just share it with us?
04:58To be a part of every IPL since its inception has been something that I am very, very grateful for.
05:03Looking at my personal journey, I think in the IPL, it's been an evolutionary one.
05:08I started off as a top-order batsman.
05:11Went on to back in the top-order for a long period of time.
05:15When I look at my journey from a larger perspective, I see it have transitioned beautifully from a youngster who's just coming up the ranks, who's done well.
05:25And then, someone who's been experienced and won a championship for his side, won the Orange Cap.
05:31And then, I've reached a place in my life where I'm a senior pro within the group.
05:35And I'm trying to help and nurture and add value to the younger members in the group.
05:40I think the hunger to win championships is still very, very much alive.
05:44I truly want to win championships.
05:46And I want to go out there and perform match-winning performances and add value to my teammates.
05:51This is regarding Rashid Khan.
05:54Because they say you are the best.
05:55You have perhaps played Rashid Khan the best.
05:58Rashid Khan, they call him the best leg-spinner around now.
06:00And you can even see, a lot of Indian players giving him a lot of respect and seeing out his overs.
06:06But your record against him is superb.
06:09Do you have a secret, or how do you play it?
06:11Well, I think he's a fantastic bowler, for sure.
06:13And I think one of his biggest advantages is that he's so quick off the wicket.
06:19And I think the reason he's quick off the wicket is because he runs into bowl and his arm action.
06:25And the speed of his arm action when he bowls.
06:28So, he's got an extremely fast arm action.
06:30So, with that arm action, you know, for me, I understand that he's going to get minor deviations on the ball.
06:36But he's not necessarily going to get big turn on the ball.
06:40For him to be able to turn the ball, he has to be able to put more on the ball.
06:44And with the arm action being so fast, it's hard for him to put so much on the ball.
06:47So, for me, I look to play him more as someone who bowls fast-ish leg-spinners.
06:57But don't deviate too much.
06:58When I played him right at the beginning, I decided that I would not look to play him across.
07:03I wouldn't look to play him square off the wicket.
07:05I'd look to play him down the ground, no matter what length he bowled.
07:08Because I felt like that was the best area for me to look to score runs to him.
07:12And if I'm prepared to play a quick leg-spinner or a quick ball, that kind of quick flipper.
07:18If I'm able to play him down the ground, and play him more as a gentle medium-pacer than a spinner.
07:26Then I probably will give myself a little time to pick him early.
07:29And then look to take the attack to him.
07:32Since World Cup is next year, and also, where do Rob and Uttappak go from here?
07:37Do you still have ambitions of getting back to the Indian squad?
07:42Oh, absolutely, sir.
07:44I actually truly believe.
07:46There's something inside me that believes that I have a World Cup left in me.
07:50If I didn't have enough left in the tank, I wouldn't be cheating this game by playing it.
07:56I wouldn't be doing that injustice to my teammates, to myself, to the game of cricket that's given me so much.
08:02If there isn't a fire burning, I wouldn't be playing.
08:06And the fire is burning. And it's burning bright.
08:08There has been a lot of talk about holding the IPL in this time.
08:12So, new normal.
08:13And the players have come in almost a month before the tournament started.
08:19Then during this 50-55 days, they're cooped up in the hotel room.
08:23There is no social life.
08:25So, there could be a kind of, you know, the things like performance anxiety,
08:31things like possibility of depression, lacking somewhere, staying away from home.
08:36All these things may affect a player.
08:40Now, you are somebody like who have come out into the open about it and spoken a few months back.
08:47So, what would be kind of your advice to these people?
08:50And how do you advise them to come out of it?
08:54Come out of it, fight their own battles, fight their own demons.
08:57And you know, again, go on to give their best.
09:00In this scenario, I think the franchises have a lot to do, would have a lot to do.
09:07If they aren't doing what is required to keep the players in the best space mentally.
09:12I think it can be lonesome.
09:13It can feel lonely.
09:16But there's also a different perspective that you can give to it.
09:19Despite being in a pandemic like this, we're able to provide entertainment and bring joy to people.
09:25Allow them to experience a range of emotions by doing what we do.
09:29So, this is something that a lot of people don't have an opportunity to do.
09:34Thank you so much, Robin, for your time.
09:37And those are wonderfully honest words.
09:39Words of wisdom, I would say.
09:41And wishing you all the very best in the campaign.
09:46Thanks again, on behalf of Gulf News, from myself and Shyam.
09:49Thanks, Robin.
09:50Robin, all the best for your next matches.
09:53Thank you very much, sir.
09:54Thanks a lot.
09:54It's a pleasure.