Rahul Tripathi of Rising Pune Supergiant, who is now the talk of the ongoing IPL with his stunning exploits as opener, says his dream is to play for India.
Speaking ahead of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Friday, Tripathi said he was enjoying every moment of being part of the Pune outfit and was grateful to his teammates and support staff for all the encouragement.
“Yes, I am excited but not thinking too much. Just focusing on what best I can do for the team. I am pleased in contributing to the team’s success,” Tripathi said.
“I would love to take it match by match. Will feel great when someone like Ajinkya bhai , Dhoni bhai say a few words like well played. They mean so much to me,” he said.
“There is no specific reason for being successful against the pacers. Just trying to take the attack to the opposition keeping things simple. I am glad that I am able to use the PowerPlays well as I think only how to hit the ball, be it a bouncer or a yorker,” the dashing opener said.
“Frankly, I am looking at the IPL as an opportunity. So never thought I would be in this position now,” he said.
On Saturday’s game, Tripathi said it was an important game against a very good side.
Nehra fit
Meanwhile, Sunrisers coach Tom Moody said left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra was fit and available for selection.
“We are addressing the issue of the efforts of Bhuvi and Rashid going waste. I think Bhuvi is the best ‘death’ bowler in the IPL,” he said. “It is always a tough call to tell any cricketer to say sorry you are not playing the game,” Moody said.
“But fortunately we are able to communicate clearly and consistently making our job easier,” he said.
“All games in the IPL are crunch games. We know that Pune is on a roll and it will be a tough match,” Moody said.
