New Delhi: Swashbuckling West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran has revealed that his Punjab Kings teammate and fellow compatriot Chris Gayle’s ‘simplest advice’ of staying still and enjoy batting is easily the best tips he has got in his career.
Pooran, who had a sensational IPL last year had the highest strike rate for a batsman with more than 300 runs. Pooran will once again join forces at Punjab Kings along with Gayle in the middle-order.
“I look up to him. He is one of my favourite batsmen. When I was growing up, I loved to watch him bat. I used to wake up early in the mornings to see him bat. He is a simple guy. He gives me the simplest advice, which is, ‘enjoy yourself and just stay as still as possible’,” the 25-year-old said to PTI.
Pooran who completed the mandatory quarantine period on Wednesday said living on a bio-secure bubble is a different kind of challenge.
“This is the best advice he can give to someone because he plays his game like that. You see him on the field and you know it is all about enjoyment and entertainment. It is definitely a challenge. If you are not in a bubble, then you can’t really speak about it, you don’t know what the feeling inside is like. It is a different challenge, especially playing a game and coming back to the hotel and getting stuck in your room,” Pooran added.
“Players are also human beings. I think a lot of people forget that they are human beings at the end of the day. You have feelings, you have emotions as well and it is a challenge. As professionals, we have to take it on our chin and find a way to live with it,” he said.
Pooran feels that the Punjab franchise did well last year but was unlucky to miss out on the playoff spot. “To be fair, last time we did get a lot of good scores. We were scoring 180-plus. I don’t think we played bad last year. This year we again have a good team. We have a lot of power,” the 25-year-old added.
