Emboldened by County stint, Sai Kishore aims to win it all with Tamil Nadu

It is not every day that you see former England Test captain and World Cup winner Ben Stokes fling his bat in the air in disbelief after being bamboozled and castled ‘through the gate’.

Sai Kishore, though, has that image to savour — Stokes left stunned by the Tamil Nadu spinner during his recent County stint in England.

Back home and into the rigours of the country’s premier domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy, the TN red-ball captain spoke to The Hindu before leaving for Jaipur, where his side opens its campaign against Rajasthan on October 11.

“Playing in foreign conditions was a good opportunity to test myself. I played at different grounds and, for the first time, at Old Trafford. You watch these grounds on TV and do your research, but it is different when you actually play there,” said Sai Kishore.

“Performing on those greenish pitches gave me confidence in my skill,” added the 29-year-old, who bagged 22 wickets in six games for his side, Gloucestershire.

Sai Kishore will have a familiar face in former teammate Yo Mahesh, who takes over as TN head coach this season.

“I’ve played with Yomi, so that relationship helps... together we should just take it forward,” said Sai Kishore.

Captaincy, meanwhile, is a responsibility he cherishes.

“It’s a great honour, privilege, pleasure and responsibility to captain Tamil Nadu. I’m very grateful for what I’ve got.

“We will give our everything. The fire is very important. The desire to win is important. This is a young side and with that comes fresh energy and enthusiasm,” he said.

For the skipper, however, the larger goal remains the same. “If there is one goal, it is the trophy. We need a collective approach, and that will be the team’s philosophy”.