CLUB OVER IPL TRIAL

Mumbai pacer Deshpande picks club game ahead of IPL trial

by Gaurav Gupta • Published on

"I've never gone for trials with an IPL team. Earlier too, the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals called me for trials" - Deshpande © Cricbuzz

If you tell a young cricketer these days to choose between playing for his club and giving a trial for an IPL team, he's almost certain to choose the second option. Playing in the IPL can give you recognition, fame, and importantly, lots of money.

For Tushar Deshpande, though, choosing the first option wasn't difficult. Having just taken six wickets in the first innings against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi, the talented Mumbai pacer was summoned by Kings XI Punjab for a trial at Mohali on Friday and Saturday. Stunningly, the 23-year-old preferred to skip what some would term as the chance of a lifetime, deciding instead to turn out for his club Parsee Gymkhana in a Purshottam Shield second round match against CCI scheduled at the same time at Parsee Gymkhana.

"I've never gone for trials with an IPL team. Earlier too, the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals called me for trials. I believe that if I'm giving my 100% in the matches that I'm playing in, why should I give trials? There's nothing that I'll gain by giving these trials. If I bowl well in the matches that I'm playing in, then someone will obviously pick me," Deshpande told TOI, before elaborating further.

"I've heard from the other players that around 60-70 players come for these trials, and you get hardly an over or two to bowl. And there's no pressure also. So, there's no point going there. Therefore, I preferred playing an official game to that, rather than going all the way to Mohali and bowling two to four overs," he explained.

Giving an IPL trial right now, he felt, will spoil his rhythm. "The season has just begun, we have just played the first Ranji match and there are seven to go, so I know Ranji is more important for me right now," he stressed.

© TNN

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