 | « Back to article | Print this article |
'I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them (Jayawardene, Tendulkar and Gambhir) and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me'
Young Mumbai Indians batsman Nitish Rana said advice from coach Mahela Jayawardane and team mentor Sachin Tendulkar helped him to regain his lost form.
In the first three matches of the IPL, the left-handed batsman has scored 34, 50 and 45 for his franchise.
Rana was dropped by the Delhi Team in the middle of their Ranji Trophy season after a couple of bad performances.
"The environment made a lot of difference. When I came here, I interacted with a lot of senior players, (the coach) Mahela Jayawardane, Sachin sir (Sachin Tendulkar), Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma)," he said.
"I also spoke to Gautam Gambhir, I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me," Rana said on Wednesday.
Hosts Mumbai Indians defeated title holders Sunrises Hyderabad by four wickets in an Indian
Premier League encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
"There was no problem in the technique. I wasn't able to play my game and could not enjoy. After I failed once-twice, I had gone into a shell. After coming here, my mind was clear, the practice and the first game went well, slowly (things started improving),” Rana said.
The 23-year-old player from Delhi says before getting dropped, in the last Ranji Trophy game, he spoke to Gambhir who made things clear for him.
"I have been with him (Gambhir) since childhood, 10-12 years, we are from the same club. He cleared my mind. Coming here the same thing I asked, Mahela, Sachin Sir and the same thing they shared and I tried to develop it in my game, it luckily worked for me," he added.