After playing India’s final T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare in July last year, Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande was sidelined from cricket with an ankle injury that required surgery. Having returned during the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, he said on Thursday that he’s looking ahead to the new season with optimism.
“I have put in a lot of effort, because it was a major ankle surgery. And that being my landing foot, it was necessary that I got operated at that moment of time. Coming ahead are a lot of international tours. So, I’m aiming for that, and I’m feeling good now for the start of the season. Duleep Trophy is important. It’s the start of the season. So, going into the Duleep Trophy with an open mind will help me.
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“Aspiration is always there to play Test cricket for India. But I’m taking it one match at a time, and just following a good process and keeping myself fit. Because I’ve lost considerable time off the game last year. So, just keeping myself fit, so that I can again put in the hard yards for Mumbai, and for anytime the selectors feel I’m ready to play for India,” he said during the Buchi Babu tournament at the MRF-Pachaiyappa’s ground in Chennai.
On working with fast bowling coach Troy Cooley ahead of the new domestic season at the NCA, he said: “His input has been good, revolving around the workload for the multi-day format. In a four-day match, a fast bowler needs to bowl around 30-35 overs (in each innings) with good intensity. So, we worked on it for a week. Like, how I go about bowling 35 overs in the two innings of a four-day match. Most of the preparation revolved around that.”
The 30-year-old, who scored his maiden First-Class ton (123) at No. 11 in the quarterfinal against Baroda in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, said that he’s worked on his batting and tweaked his batting approach.
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“I have just tweaked my batting and my mindset. I feel it’s going to be very helpful. Earlier, I used to throw my wicket. My father has always told me that I will be a good batter if I bat with patience. I think I took it seriously two years ago,” he said.
Deshpande believes that the Impact Player rule in the IPL has made the game more challenging for the bowlers. “IPL is a high-pressure environment. And the way the game is going after the Impact Player rule, you cannot judge a bowler by a single game.
“Because, after the Impact Player rule, bowlers can’t be a lot harder on themselves. Even good balls are going for runs. You would have seen that in the last two years, there have been a lot of 200-plus scores. And great bowlers in the game are going for runs. So, there’s no point thinking a lot about that game (in which runs were conceded). I feel it’s very important to stay level-headed,” he said.
Published on Aug 28, 2025
