Thampi looks to shine for SRH

Pacer Basil Thampi, who won the 'Emerging player' award with the Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League last season, will look to shine when he dons the Surisers Hyderabad jersey this season.

Having been picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL season, Basil Thampi is hoping to do well under the new team setup.

To stay energised, utterly unsapped, through the heft of his workload, is a trait valued in a fast bowler. Former England captain Mike Brearley said he was in awe of how astonishingly energised Bob Willis was throughout a day in the cricket field.

Willis was a different being, according to Brearley. But it's a trait that 24-year old Basil Thampi is seen to possess. On the second day of the elite group final in the TNCA first division league here on Saturday, Thampi bowled his heart out on a wicket from which he seemed to extract bounce better than any other bowler.

In fact, two of his three wickets came off bounce unexpected by the batsmen - and were caught unawares. At his speed (he usually bowls at over 135 kph), there was no way for the batsman to react but to be surprised.

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"Hats off to Basil Thampi. He's definitely a next level material. Throughout the day, he was bowling at good speeds. That is very important. I believe that a fast bowler is better judged by his last spell than his first. Even in his last spell (of the day), he bowled as good as did in his first. That shows the guy has a good future ahead,” said the opposition team mentor and former Tamil Nadu Ranji cricketer S. Sharath.

Thampi, who won the 'Emerging player' award with the Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League last season, said it was a "turning point" in his career and added that the "confidence to bowl to anyone" was his one big takeaway from it.

"Luckily, I had a good captain in Raina bhai . He supported me like a brother. Because, it's difficult for a newcomer to have played the number of matches I got to play last season (12 out of the total 14). He made me play and I had good support from the management as well. And because I played so much, I got to bowl to all kind of batsmen - be it classy, or hard-hitting. So, I got that confidence to bowl to everyone which was the one big benefit," said Thampi here on Friday.

Having been picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL season, Thampi is "hoping to do well" under the "new team setup." He said Brad Hodge, who was the Gujarat Lions coach last season, is someone who's "very funny" and "gives confidence," adding that he's looking forward to get to know Tom Moody (Sunrisers Hyderabad coach) this season.