Raina bhai supported me like a brother, says Basil Thampi

Basil Thampi had an impressive season for the Gujarat Lions in the tenth season of the Indian Premier League (SRH). The right-arm fast bowler notched 11 wickets in 12 matches and subsequently, won the Emerging Player of the Year award. The Kerala-born cricketer has also performed exceptionally in the domestic circuit. Gujarat Lions have been dissolved by the return of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Thereafter, Thampi entered the auction with a base price of 30 Lakhs. He was eventually bagged by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for 95 Lakhs. After an impressive opening season, the player would be hoping to replicate his form in the upcoming season as well. He played under Suresh Raina, the skipper of the Gujarat Lions, during the last season and he thanked the Indian batsmen for the support he lent him throughout in a recent interaction with the media.

“Good support from the management”- Thampi

“Luckily, I had a good captain in Raina bhai. He supported me like a brother. Because it’s difficult for a newcomer to have played the number of matches I got to play last season (12 out of the total 14). He made me play and I had good support from the management as well” Thampi was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Throughout the entire duration of the tournament, Thampi was required to bowl to some of the best batsmen in the business. He was taken for runs on quite a few occasions, however, instead of letting the challenges unnerve him, he bowled his heart out and dished out some impressive spells.

“And because I played so much, I got to bowl to all kind of batsmen – be it classy, or hard-hitting. So, I got that confidence to bowl to everyone which was the one big benefit,” Thampi added.

Here is the Sunrisers squad

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