Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'Things like this happen. Everyone goes through patches': IPL star on nightmare season; 'I'm much better player now'
The left-handed dasher is a proven performer in the T20 format. But he endured a mediocre season with Punjab Kings last year, which fetched him just 85 runs at a poor average of 7.72.
SunRisers Hyderabad camp looked unruffled by franchises splurging huge money on players in the initial phase of the recent IPL mega auction. It almost looked like the franchise didn't have a paddle to lift at the event before it shelled out a staggering ₹10.75 crore to buy West Indies wicketkeeper- batter Nicholas Pooran. The left-handed dasher is a proven performer in the T20 format but endured a mediocre season with Punjab Kings last year, which fetched him just 85 runs at a poor average of 7.72. (ALSO READ | SRH IPL 2022 Schedule: Sunrisers Hyderabad complete fixtures, match timings, venues and dates- All you need to know)
Pooran's ODI assigment against India also was a below-par outing but the Sunrisers went all-out for him that helped him earn a million-dollar contract. He attracted the highest-ever bid for a West Indies player and Pooran has opened up about the pressure attached with the hefty price tag.
"As a professional player, sometimes I guess it does, especially when you're not doing well, the media targets you, a lot of fans criticise you, so it [the fee] definitely does play a part. But as a professional it's your job to put that noise behind you and just try to perform for the team," Pooran told ESPNCricinfo.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who notched up three consecutive fifties against India in the recent T20I series, reflected on his international run and said he intends to transmit the form to the IPL. He also spoke about the nightmarish previous season with Punjab.
"It doesn't feel like that. Just because I had one bad season, it's not going to change the player I am. I am doing pretty well in international cricket and everyone sees that. For me it's about giving back to my team - the Sunrisers have invested a lot in me and so I just want to give my all for them - to me it's about being the best version of myself."
Pooran had registered a string of ducks for Punjab, five to be precise, and the Trinidad-born said every player goes through such phases in career, further adding that the gruesome IPL season was a learning experience for him.
"Things like this happen; everyone goes through patches in their career. First game last year, I got a first-ball duck, then next game, I got a second-ball duck. Eventually I went out to bat and didn't even face a ball, got run out (laughs). I'm not dwelling on it too much, I believe I am a much better player now, and I learnt a lot from that IPL season," he said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will kick-start their IPL 2022 campaign against inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals, led by Sanju Samson. The Kane Williamson-led side is bracketed in Group B and will take on its fellow group members Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Gujarat Giants two times each.
