My mother always said that I’ll play for India and that kept me going, says Tushar Deshpande

The 24-year-old Mumbai based pacer Tushar Deshpande showed the nerves of playing in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2019, a day after his mother’s demise. He kept going and travelled to Indore when everyone expected that he won’t, despite being devastated due to the loss. He finished the tournament as the third highest wicket-taker, with 19 wickets in 10 outings, with best figures of 4/19.

Young Deshpande, not only has a remarkable mental strength but also his natural pace is inevitable and has troubled the batsmen more often than not. In the previous season of the Ranji Trophy, the pacer claimed 17 wickets in 4 games. Despite his no-ball problem, Deshpande had batsmen jumping around, hitting them on the body, getting catches off the glove. His pace is natural and accurate, so quick that the batsmen didn’t have time to get out of the way.

Deshpande reveals that his final goal is to play red-ball cricket for India

The Mumbaikar has revealed that his final goal is playing for the Indian cricket team and that his late mother’s words will always be a motivation for him. He further said that these domestic tournaments are “stepping stones” to his final goal.  

“I played the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy because my mother always told me that you should play for India with the hard work you’ve put in. Playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and other domestic tournaments are the stepping stones to playing for India. My mother said that I’ll play for India, skipping the tournament at that time wouldn’t help my cause or my mother’s cause so that was the thing I kept in mind and that kept me going,” Deshpande told Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat.

He further said that playing Test cricket for India is where he wants to be in the end and that he believes in making no compromise.

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“My dad told me to never compromise with the game”, he said. The tall and lanky bowler revealed that he gets inspired by South African veteran pacer Dale Steyn, who is an inspiration to him. ‘The attitude he brings to his bowling is extraordinary. Bowlers get wickets and they don’t celebrate but Steyn gets the batsmen out and the way he celebrates, it displays the effort he has put in to get the batsmen out, I love watching him bowl, ” the 24-year-old said.

Living in the moment is what the 24-year-old follows

Deshpande, who bagged six wickets in six games in the T20 Mumbai league said that his main focus was not to take wickets but to be as economical as a bowler as possible. He was used as a new ball bowler and had the responsibility of finishing off the innings for his team at the death as well. So it was on top of his priority to contain runs. 

He believes in making progress each day and is focused on that more than eyeing long-term targets.

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