“I'm a better limited-overs batter now, getting picked by Gujarat Titans will be the cherry on top” - Priyank Panchal ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction

Gujarat skipper Priyank Panchal is upbeat ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction and the upcoming edition of the Ranji Trophy. After his recent success in domestic limited-overs cricket and receiving his maiden Test call-up, the right-handed opener is now confident about bagging his first IPL contract. The 31-year-old is one of 590 cricketers who will go under the hammer in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.

In the latest edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Panchal scored 188 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 135.25. Although branded as a “red-ball specialist” until a few years ago, Panchal has lately given a good account of his white-ball credentials with a revamped batting approach.

He cited a major reason behind this change:

“I’ve worked hard on my power-hitting and become mentally stronger.”

As far as red-ball cricket is concerned, Panchal recently toured South Africa twice. First as India A captain and then part of India’s Test squad. Even though he couldn’t make his Test debut in the three-match series, the stylish batter believes it was a great learning curve for him.

Panchal is now preparing himself for the rigors of the Ranji Trophy, which is set to begin after a two-year hiatus on February 17, albeit in curtailed form.

In a freewheeling chat with Sportskeeda on Wednesday, Panchal spoke about the resumption of domestic first-class cricket, the newly-named Ahmedabad IPL franchise and his evolution as a batter in shorter formats. Here are the excerpts.

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Q: The Ranji Trophy is returning after a gap of almost two years. Are you feeling relieved now?

Panchal: It’s good to be back on the field for first-class cricket. I’m really glad that the Ranji Trophy is finally happening and I’m looking forward to playing it.

Q: Gujarat has been placed in Group A alongside Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya. How do you view your group? Do you think the Ranji Trophy will be more competitive this season due to the shortened format?

Panchal: Yes, it will definitely be more competitive because we only have three matches and there’s no chance of making a comeback. We need to give our best from the first day of training. Everything should start from there.

Q: You’ll play all your league matches in Rajkot. Do you think the familiar conditions will give Gujarat an added advantage in this group?

Panchal: I must thank the BCCI for planning the tournament like this because the teams have to travel less now. I can’t say that the conditions in Rajkot are quite familiar to us because every team will have to play on a different kind of soil. Madhya Pradesh and Kerala are strong teams with some experienced players. They’ve also played enough cricket in Rajkot before.

Q: You traveled to South Africa twice last year for the longer format, but didn’t get any red-ball match practice before that. How challenging was it to play first-class cricket in alien conditions in such circumstances?

Panchal: We played a few practice matches, so it wasn’t very difficult. I played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before departing for South Africa, which gave me sufficient match practice. It’s always great as long as you’re engaged in competitive cricket, regardless of the format. You just need to change your mindset from T20 or one-day cricket to first-class cricket.

Q: You didn’t get any game in the three-match Test series against South Africa. What are your takeaways from the tour?

Panchal: It was an amazing experience for me because first, I was captain of the India A team. We faced some good bowlers in that series against South Africa A. However, I missed my century by just four runs in the first match. I played well in that series and I’m glad that I got an opportunity to play in South Africa.

Talking about the Indian Test team, I’ve learnt a lot from the experience because it was a bit different from the India A experience. But I would say that the quality of cricket is not very different [between India A and India] because we face almost the same bowlers. I hope to get my Test cap soon [smiles]. It’s my goal to play Test cricket for India, but I’ve also been working quite hard on my white-ball game.

Q: Could you kindly elaborate on that? What innovations have you brought to your batting in limited-overs cricket?

Panchal: My limited-overs batting has improved a lot over the past two to three years, and the stats prove that. I got the results in last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. I was amazed to see that I was able to score runs at a good strike rate in T20 cricket.

I’m really thankful to Parthiv [Patel] bhai because he told me a few things that really worked for me. He encouraged me to become mentally stronger and that has proved quite beneficial. I’ve also worked hard on my power-hitting. As I said, you need to have a specific mindset for a particular format and you need to respect each format.

Q: Do you think getting an IPL contract has become essential to be noticed for India’s limited-overs set-up?

Panchal: Ummmm [Pause]… I don’t really have an answer to this question. I can only say that you need to keep performing because only performance counts at the end of the day. If you score a lot of runs, people will take notice and eventually your time will come. I believe in this philosophy.

Q: Have you heard anything from any of the ten IPL franchises so far?

Panchal: Ummm…No. I was in South Africa for two months, so I didn’t get called up for any trials. But yes, I did show my character and form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Q: It’s a good day to talk to you as the official name of the Ahmedabad IPL franchise was unveiled a few hours back. What would it mean for Priyank Panchal if he got picked up by Gujarat Titans at the auction?

Panchal: I would love to play for any of the ten franchises, but being picked up by the Gujarat franchise will be the ‘cherry on top’ [laughs].

Q: How are you feeling before the auction? Are you nervous?

Panchal: No, I’m not nervous. I think I have a better chance of finding an IPL team at this auction because a larger pool of players will be required. The teams may also select a few standby players depending on the COVID-19 situation. Let’s see what happens.

Q: We know you're an avid reader. Is reading your favorite pastime inside a bio-bubble?

Panchal: Yes, definitely! I carry two to three books with me on every tour. Currently, I'm reading two books - one on artificial intelligence and the other one on psychology. I love to read books on human psychology and behavior. It makes me feel good [smiles].

Q: Hardik Pandya will lead Gujarat Titans. You’ve seen him closely for many years now. At any point in his career, has he shown a flair for captaincy?

Panchal: I’ve never played zonal cricket with him. I’ve played only one game with him for India A where he was the captain. It was a three-day practice game in Mumbai against Australia A in 2017. He has the ability to do well as a captain. It will be a new experience for him.