'There will be a lot of learnings for sure,' new SRH recruit Virat Singh talks life after IPL Auction, aggression of David Warner and more (Exclusive Interview)

Prior to the IPL Auction Virat Singh was a highly discussed name given his performances in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 335 runs at an astounding average of 83.75, which included a hundred and two fifties in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He extended his exceptional performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well where he scored 343 runs in 10 matches including three fifties, at an average of 57.16.

The left-handed sturdy batsman was seen as a multi dimensional player who could be an asset for any of the IPL teams. He had put a strong case as an uncapped middle order batsman who had the capabilities to finish games on his own.

Also see – Ranji points table

On December 19, when Hugh Edmeades called out the name Virat Singh at the base price of ₹20 lakh, it sparked a bidding war between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the end, it was Sunrisers Hyderabad who procured the services of this player at the price of ₹1.9 crore.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Virat talks about his cricketing journey and his will to perform in IPL 2020.

How do you feel after getting picked in this IPL Auction? Furthermore, did you expected the bid to go as high as ₹1.90 crore?

Virat: The feeling is ofcourse pretty nice. However, I didn't expected the bid to go so high. Also, the amount of money that I'm getting will be creating a lot of pressure for me to perform well for my team.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are composed with some top notch players such as Kane Williamson and David Warner. How are you looking forward to share the dugout with them?

Virat: It's always great to play with some top cricketers in the world. It is going to be a very good experience. There will be a lot of learnings for sure. I've been watching David Warner play since my childhood and I'm keen to learn the aggression that he has while he is batting. He has contributed a lot to the Australian cricket.

There will be a lot of learnings from Kane Williamson as well. I'm looking forward to the way he uses his calmness in pressure like situations. Also, he's a great finisher of the game, he finished quite a few games for New Zealand in this World Cup. Overall, I'm pretty much excited to share the dressing room with such great players.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become a role model for a lot of budding cricketers from all around the world. What has been the contribution of Dhoni for the Jharkhand cricket team specifically in the recent times?

Virat: First of all, whenever he is free, he spends a lot of time with the team. He's mostly available during the off season and we're also training in Ranchi during that particular point of time. He sits with the team and have a good chat with us. He's also always open to questions and give detailed answers to our queries.

He has played a big role in not only motivating the lads but also inspiring us with his cricketing journey. He has emerged from such a small city in Jharkhand to become one of the best players in the game of cricket. Through this, I also get a feeling that I can do the same as well.

Virat gives credits to Seaham Park Cricket Club for his improved performances

You performed incredibly in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy which was the primary reason that you got picked in this IPL Auction. Which particular ingredient has lead to the betterment of your performance in the last couple of years?

Virat: I would like to begin from the start. I was really looking forward to play the U-19 World Cup. However, I couldn't make the cut which was really disheartening for me. However, I was really motivated to work hard and I even did. I started working on my strength, fitness and everything. After the U-19 World Cup, I wanted to play really well. Unfortunately, it couldn't happen for me.

After a lot of deliberation, I made a decision to go to England and play club cricket. I played for Seaham Park Cricket Club in County Durham and lot of credit goes to them for my enhanced performances. There was a good standard of cricket there and I got to play a lot of matches. I scored a lot of runs and finished quite a few of matches. It was here where I developed the habit of finishing games for my team which is helping me now in domestic cricket. I finished quite a few games in the Vijay Hazare as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

How would you like to rate the performance of Jharkhand cricket team and what are those fields, where you would like to improve upon going forward?

Virat: We played a good brand of cricket in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Unfortunately, we couldn't qualify because we lost a couple of games in between. However, we played some really good cricket according to me in that tournament. If we talk about Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we qualified for the Super League stages. However, we couldn't win a single game in the Super League stages because 3-4 key players of our team were injured after the league stages, hence they were unavailable during that stage.

We've played some good cricket but we've got to be consistent with our performances. If we start losing games continuously, it will be hard for us to come out of it. This is one aspect where we'll be working upon. If we talk Ranji Trophy, we've got a great start, getting 2 outright victories from 2 games we have played. Everything is going smoothly and all the lads are in the right zone. Hopefully, we go on to play the semi finals and the finals.

Your brother, Vishal Singh is also a cricketer who plays for the Jharkhand domestic team. What role has he played in your entire cricketing career?

Virat: He's 3-4 years elder to me and he was the reason that I was motivated to play cricket. He played really well in the school leagues and he later captained the U-15 team. This really motivated me to do well in cricket and my cricketing journey took off from here. When I made the cut to the U-16 Jharkhand team, he was the captain of the team and he really backed me to do well. He's the first stand by in this Ranji Trophy and I really hope he makes the cut really soon.