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'I told myself there's no point having a lot of nerves': Jagadeesan shares thought process on his CSK debut in IPL 2020
Chennai Super Kings' wicketkeeper-batsman Jagadeesan shed light on his debut season with CSK and his first innings for the three-time champions during IPL 2020.
If a youngster has the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja as his teammates, he is bound to learn a lot regarding the game and everything around it. One particular youngster, since 2018, has had the great fortune of playing for a reputed Indian Premier League (IPL) side and sharing the dressing room with some of the modern greats.
Enter Chennai Super Kings' N. Jagadeesan.
His first year with the franchise also happened to be CSK's comeback year after a two-year ban. While speaking to Sportskeeda, the wicketkeeper-batsman spoke about how he carefully observed the way senior pros went about their game preparations.
"The way I go about my game, preparing mentally. We don't really work a lot on the technical aspect at CSK because we don't have a lot of time. But learning comes from looking at the others and how they prepare mentally for a game," Jagadeesan said.
CSK had a torrid IPL 2020. They finished seventh in the league and for the first time in their history, they failed to make the playoffs. Hence, during the final stretch of the season, youngsters like him and Ruturaj Gaikwad got a chance to play a few games. He made his debut in Match 25 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and scored a promising 33. It was a dream come true for him.
"Making a debut for CSK was something I dreamed about right from the year I got picked. And eventually, when I got the chance, I told myself there's no point having a lot of nerves while batting because I've been waiting for this. I didn't want to screw it up by being nervous. So the only mindset I had was to go and express myself," Jagadeesan revealed.
However, the right-hander was soon dropped from the side and came back only in match 41 against Mumbai Indians. He was dismissed for a golden duck and didn't get to bat in the final three matches despite making the playing XI. Sharing his thoughts on that phase, he said: " "Yeah, I'd definitely say it was unfortunate. But looking at the team's cause, everything was done better, the way the team wanted. The team comes first, and not getting to bat is uncontrollable. I'm just glad that I was part of five matches and that I was able to do the best I could," he said.
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During IPL 2021, the Tamil Nadu player didn't feature in a single game. However, he made sure of making the most of his time in the nets, facing world-class bowlers.
"In the nets, you keep playing international bowlers. We've got top bowlers like Josh and Lungi, as well as skilful bowlers like Deepak [Chahar]. When you play good bowlers in the nets, it gives you confidence that you're well-equipped for this," Jagadeesan claimed.
The 25-year-old batsman has become a mainstay in the Tamil Nadu team. He has amassed 1174 runs in 23 matches at an average of 39.13.
