WE WILL LOOK TO PLAY ENTERTAINING CRICKET, SAYS APAR

VB Thiruvallur Veerans captain B Aparajith and vice-captain Malolan Rangarajan addressed the media at MA Chidambaram stadium on Thursday (July 20). Excerpts:

Bharat Arun was the team’s coach, but now he is with Team India…
Aparajith: You can’t replace a coach like Bharat Arun Sir but we will have Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) Sir and VB (Chandrasekhar) Sir. Their experience will always help us and they will add more value to the team. We have legends like them to help us. Officially, we don’t have a coach but we have people to guide us.

How are the preparations going?
Aparajith: The preparations are the same. We just want to do the right thing and the results will follow. That is our mindset.

How important is this TNPL for you, personally, as an allrounder?
Rangarajan: The TNPL is a very prestigious tournament and we have talents like T Natarajan and N Jagadeesan coming up. It gives opportunities to many cricketers and I am fortunate to be part of this tournament. I see it as an opportunity for me to perform.

How does the team aim to match people’s expectations?
Aparajith: People’s expectations are always there and it will be more this year. The team’s motive will be to make people happy with our cricket and provide entertainment to the crowd.

Would you want to open the batting for the team at some point?
Rangarajan: We haven’t discussed it yet. But whatever the team needs, I am ready to do. I have always been a team man, so I will do whatever the team requires.

Last year, two players made it to the IPL. So, will there be onus on the players to perform and see it as an opportunity to play at the next level?
Aparajith: When a league is giving as many as five players to the IPL, it creates an awareness among everyone that if I do well on this platform, some IPL team will be watching me. You can’t solely think about getting into an IPL team while playing in the TNPL, but yes players will have it at the back of their mind. But everyone knows that people are watching because Natarajan and Washington Sundar were picked at the IPL auction and they performing well in the tournament.

You haven’t been getting opportunities to play in the IPL. So, at a personal level, how important is this TNPL for you?
Aparajith: My aim is to do well, but not just in the TNPL. People will notice you if you do well in any tournament. If I do well here, I know will get a chance in some tournament or the other.

What was the difference you saw in Washington Sundar playing in IPL and in TNPL?
Aparajith: He showed tremendous improvement in the IPL and it was there to see. The TNPL was like a platform which set him up, he evolved from here and went to the IPL. The stepping stone for him was the TNPL.

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