From watching the IPL as a fan till last year to playing in it this season, life has come full circle for rookie Kings XI Punjab off-spinner Shivam Sharma who believes the tournament provides a platform for bagging India berth.
"IPL is a platform from where you can go on and represent India. It was my dream to play in this T20 league. I had gone to see an IPL game with my brother last year and told him about my wish," Shivam told PTI in an interview.
Shivam, 20, got Royal Challengers batsman Yuvraj caught at slip to bag his debut wicket in a T20 match and then sent Albie Morkel packing to end with figures of 2 for 26. The youngster said it was all part of a plan.
"We planned to attack Yuvraj. He is the kind of player who can demolish any bowling attack if he gets going. So it's important to get him early. And that's the reason I did keep a slip for him as advised by our think-tank," said the former India Under-19 skipper.
The off-spinner does not have a 'doosra' in his armoury but relies on the carrom ball to surprise batsmen.
"I don't have the doosra, but I do have the carom ball. I bowl the carrom ball a lot in the nets, but (Glenn) Maxwell has decoded my carom ball delivery with his reverse sweeps. So, one learns a lot while bowling to him in the nets, you grow as a T20 bowler," said Shivam.
Overawed by the presence of stars in the Punjab dressing room, Shivam considers himself lucky to be just sitting next to a Virender Sehwag or Maxwell. He admits to have learnt a lot from the senior players.
"It's sometimes unreal to share a dressing room with such big players. From Sehwag I have learnt to keep my cool in any situation. Maxy (Maxwell) is a fun guy, he keeps the dressing room in good spirits. We can't bat like him but we do learn to play it cool like him," said Shivam.
