I feel I am one of the best spinners in the country: Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore, the left-arm orthodox hailing from Chennai, has had a chaotic past few months when it comes to his cricketing career. After a freak injury to the neck ruled him out in the middle of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League, Kishore spent a couple of months navigating his way back to fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

An injury as painful as the one he endured couldn't smother his confidence as Kishore, on the back of a successful campaign in the recently-concluded Tamil Nadu Premier League, is bubbling with belief more than ever. This has to do with the rigorous bouts of drills he put himself under post the break off from cricket after the commencement of the TNPL.

“I feel so confident because I have never trained in the block I have now. Maybe before getting into the IPL, I would have trained like this. Waking up at 4 am, training and then bowling. I haven't put in as many hours as I have this pre-season in the past four-five years. During the IPL, you don't get time, you focus on recovery. After the TNPL, I had a 15-20 day break, and used it to the best,” stated Kishore, as quoted by The New Indian Express.

While he will be leading the TNCA XI during the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, Kishore is slotted alongside the likes of Indian internationals; Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar for the Duleep Trophy. The wily character expressed about him never feeling better equipped in terms of preparation, and believed that playing along with a red-ball great like Jadeja will be an invaluable learning curve for an intriguing personality like him.

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“I feel I am one of the best spinners in the country. Put me in a Test match, I am ready. So, I am not worried too much. Jadeja is there, I have never played alongside him. I have been with him in CSK, but never played together in the red-ball format. It will be a good learning experience in terms of what he does. In saying that, I feel confident. So, I am ready more than ever,” mentioned the Tamil Nadu skipper.

If I have to bowl 50 overs, I'll do it happily: Kishore

The spin bowling all-rounder spoke on the main motive behind playing the tournament, as well as his voracious appetite when it comes to consuming cricket, something which he stated wasn't really the case when it comes to most cricketers. He labelled the injury he had sustained to be a silver lining in the dark clouds, and yet again expressed his eagerness to get back on the field.

“The main reason to play Buchi Babu is to get ready to bowl 50 overs. I wanted to play Buchi Babu. I want to play as much cricket as I can. Sometimes, these kinds of injuries can be a blessing because sometimes, cricketers get bored playing too much cricket, it doesn't happen to me that much, but happens for most. Naturally, when an injury happens, I am raring to go. If I have to bowl 50 overs, I will do it happily. I will do it with more interest, more fire. So, it has been a blessing. Very eager to play again,” concluded Kishore.

Also Check: Watch: Ishan Kishan takes brilliant catches on his return to red-ball cricket in Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament 2024

Kishore will be leaving on Sunday to partake in TNCA XI's first Buchi Babu game against Haryana in Round 2 to be played in Coimbatore.