BENGALURU: Crediting coach Rahul Dravid for instilling positive thinking in the team, Karnataka seamer Sreenath Aravind, who has been included in the national T20 squad for the upcoming South Africa series, today said that the legendary batsman has put the India A players on right track.
The left-arm pacer, who can also bowl spin, bagged three wickets in the opening unofficial ODI against Bangladesh A and then picked up two crucial scalps today to play a key role in India A’s 2-1 victory in the series. The Bangalore player credited Dravid for the team’s success.
“He is a legend and most of the time he is positive in the dressing room and also outside,” Aravind told reporters.
“He (Dravid) keeps encouraging us even when the chips are down, and that is the main factor we won the ODI series against Bangladesh A,” he added.
Aravind, 31, also talked about his role models Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan and getting vital tips from Australia’s Mitchell Johnson.
“My role model has been Wasim Akram and then Zaheer Khan and now Mitchell Starc, who gave me some vital bowling tips,” Aravind said.
“I learnt from Starc how to bowl yorkers over the wicket. Also I got valuable tips about having Plan A and Plan B to get into the skin of the batsmen,” he added.
Asked about the influence of IPL in his performance, the Royal Challengers Bangalore player said the T20 tournament helped the Indian youngsters to rub shoulders with many established international stars, who are adept at handling different match situations.
“Yes, IPL was helpful for us, because we get to play with so many international players who play at different situations well,” he said.
A shy Aravind admitted that he was surprised at his call-up in the India T20 squad.
“I was surprised and was not expecting it for I was concentrating on my game (against Bangladesh A),” Aravind said.
PTI