RevSportz interviewed Karan Sampat, who has steadily worked his way through Tamil Nadu’s domestic cricket circuit and experienced the highly competitive environment of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
Q: You have been around the TNPL environment before. Looking back, what do you think has changed the most in your game since you first entered the league?
Karan: What has changed most is how I aim to gain expertise in each part of my process and focus on what I’m good at, rather than looking at the negative stuff. This has been a big change since I went into that team environment, one of the big takeaways from the TNPL.
Q: Everybody sees the matches, but very few see the years leading up to them. What was the toughest phase of your journey before reaching the TNPL?
Karan: There was no toughest phase because I enjoyed every year of my journey. But if there was a period when I was contemplating whether I should do more or not, it was around COVID-19. I didn’t know where the sport was going or where I was going to go. I don’t think I had a tough phase in my sport at any time.
Q: You’ve come into a dressing room that has consistently been one of the strongest sides in the TNPL. As a young player, what’s the biggest thing that you have picked up just from training alongside the senior players?
Karan: The biggest thing I would say is how they look at what was in their control or what they could have done better in that particular game. Then just leaving everything at the ground or in the room itself. You tend to overthink a lot, but then after a point, what’s in your hand? You can just do that at the end of the day. That was the biggest takeaway from the room, I felt.
Q: Ravichandran Ashwin has played a major role in promoting the TNPL in its initial years by playing in the league himself. What have you learned from observing Ashwin?
Karan: He takes each game as his last game. He tries innovating his own skills and outsmarting each player who is playing against him. It doesn’t matter if they’re playing in the local league or the ISL division. The major takeaway would be how he tries to be better than anybody on that day.
Q: When international cricketers play in leagues, how much motivation does it give to youngsters?
Karan: We look up to them and see what processes they follow. It motivates us to do better each day and not just in the game itself.
Q: Is there any one area of your batting that you’ve consciously worked on over the last year?
Karan: I feel that what I worked on was taking the innings to the end of the game or turning the innings in our favour when they’re not going our way. I worked more against spin because that’s where they bowl a lot in the middle. Basically, it’s about how I get those quick singles and big shots when I want to.
Q: What’s one piece of advice that you’ve received in the cricket ecosystem that has stayed with you till date?
Karan: Let the unknowns be the unknown. What you can control, you can control. It’s better to be a fool 10 times and then know everything.
Q: Fans usually just judge performances on match day. What’s one part of training that they would actually be surprised by?
Karan: How many hours we spend just to perfect one ball or one shot, or how much time we spend on the accuracy of bowling that one yorker at the key time. They think the sport is easy, but it’s not that easy when they see the entertaining part of fast bowlers.
Q: Was there ever a senior player or a coach who changed the way that you think about cricket?
Karan: There have not been many coaches or players. Hence, there’s not one player, but I observe everybody and how they’re going, and I take whatever works for me.
Q: Now, without looking too far ahead, what are you focusing on most in your game over the coming months?
Karan: I want to work on increasing my pace because I’ve been told that I have good accuracy, but if I had that extra zip in pace, I could do better. Also, I want to work on being a consistent all-rounder.
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The post “He Takes Each Game as His Last Game”: TNPL Player Karan Sampat Speaks About Ravichandran Ashwin appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
