Virat Kohli asks me to show same intensity at net sessions, says RCB quick Navdeep Saini

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Navdeep Saini has given credit to his franchise captain Virat Kohli for boosting him to do better at the nets so that he does well in the real games. The 26-year-old Delhi cricketer though did not fulfill the expectations in the first match he played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, but he has not lost sight of his captain’s advice.

Saini, who finished as Delhi’s top wicket-taker during the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy with 34 scalps, will be one of the RCB’s hopes in their next games and the bowler is keen to make his debut IPL season a memorable one. Saini failed to pick a wicket in the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the first game but is sparing no effort at the nets to ensure that his wicket column gets ticked fast. RCB play Mumbai Indians, who also lost in their first game against Delhi Capitals, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

“All the help I have got in my bowling is all because of tennis ball cricket. If you want to bowl full with tennis ball, it is crucial you are fast. Since I bowled a lot with the tennis ball, it helped me build strength. Because of that, my arm speed increased as well,” Sports Café cited reports as quoting Saini, who is known to clock high-speed deliveries.

“Virat Kohli keeps telling me, ‘show the same intensity of a match at the nets also. In the nets if you’re conditioned to give 110 per cent, you will be at 95 per cent level in the match, because there’s added pressure.’ Bowling to top batsmen like Kohli and Ab de Villiers gives me a lot of confidence.”

Saini thanks Gautam Gambhir too

Saini, who has 120 wickets in 43 first-class games, regularly plays for India ‘A’ and also got a call in India’s Test squad for the one-off game against Afghanistan in June last year. He also thanked former India opener Gautam Gambhir, also a Delhi player like Kohli, for playing a key role in his professional journey.

Here is RCB’s squad for IPL 2019

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