“He came in a tough situation and looked like he belonged”- Mike Hesson praises young RCB debutant Suyash Prabhudessai

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson has praised young batter Suyash Prabhudessai following his impressive IPL debut against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday. According to Hesson, the way Prabhudessai performed, it just looked like he belonged on the big stage.

Although RCB went down to CSK by 23 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Prabhudessai made an impact on his debut. Bangalore fielded first and the youngster came up with a brilliant diving effort to run out Moeen Ali. He then hammered 34 off 18, hitting five fours and a six.

Praising the 24-year-old, Hesson said in a video posted on RCB’s official YouTube channel:

“He’s done everything asked of him to this point to get that opportunity. The fact that an opportunity opened up, gave everybody a chance to see what we have been seeing for the last few weeks. Great run out to get rid of a key guy like Moeen Ali. He did other special things on the field and he is a high quality player.”

Speaking specifically about his batting performance, the 47-year-old added:

“He came in a tough situation and looked like he belonged. That’s what you want to see from these young guys. We’ve had a few of them and we just need to pull it back together. All in all a pretty good fight.”

Prabhudessai and Shahbaz Ahmed (41 off 27) featured in a fifth-wicket stand of 60 after RCB lost four wickets for 50 runs. Dinesh Karthik also chipped in with 34 off 14, but Bangalore only managed to reach 193 for nine while chasing 217.

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“DK bhai just told me to enjoy the game” - Suyash Prabhudessai

Reflecting on his debut, Prabhudessai admitted that there were butterflies in his stomach, but thanked the seniors in the IPL team for making things comfortable for him. He said:

“Those butterflies are always there when you are going on the ground for the first time. It’s a big league. I was talking to all the senior players in the team and they made me feel very comfortable on the ground. It was my debut but it didn’t feel like I was playing for the first time. The crowds were really good and I enjoyed it."

He also shared details of his conversation with Karthik before heading out to bat. The youngster revealed:

“When I was going out to bat, I was talking to DK bhai about how I should divide those big scores into small parts. DK bhai just told me to enjoy the game and look for opportunities to score runs. I was just waiting for the loose balls. And when the good balls were bowled, I was trying to convert those singles into twos.”

The cricketer, who represents Goa in domestic cricket, had to be drafted into RCB's playing XI after Harshal Patel left the bio-bubble following the death of his sister.