IPL 2020: ‘Rahul Dravid gave me freedom…we were allowed to fail at Rajasthan Royals’

Dubai: Rajasthan Royals (RR) won the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 under Shane Warne’s leadership. Later, another legend, Rahul Dravid was at the helm of the team and he guided several youngsters. One of the young Indian batsmen has opened up how Dravid and the franchise operated. He spoke ahead of IPL 2020 in the UAE.

First Published Aug 25, 2020, 10:32 AM IST

Dravid has mentored many youngsters in IPL, and as coach of India A and Under-19 teams. Now, he is the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has said Dravid gave him freedom to express himself while playing for RR in IPL.

“Yes, I have got some very good memories of IPL. I am fortunate enough to have spent most of my career with the Royals where we are allowed to fail. From the beginning, the likes of Zubin Bharucha, Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton gave me the freedom to express myself and not worry about failures — that certainly helped in my batting,” Samson told Gulf News in Dubai.

“We are a very strong team on paper this year (IPL 2020) and expect to show this in our results. A lot of planning has gone into the auction and the way we will approach the league and our target is nothing short of winning the title,” he added.

Samson, who has played T20Is for India, is happy that IPL is set to start. “We as a unit are both happy and excited that the IPL is eventually happening. It always feels good to be in Dubai but this time, we have not been able to explore Dubai as we are in our rooms for the quarantine period.”

The youngster said conditions in the UAE would be different. “Yes, the conditions this time will be very different from that of playing in India during the months of April-May. First up, I am told that September-October are the hottest months. As we will be playing across only three venues, too many matches may slow down the wickets later on but we have the experience to handle this. We just have to be smart and keep the intent going.”