Bharat.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Cricket fans are expected to turn out in large numbers for India’s second Test against England, starting here on Friday. They should be hoping for more of the exciting cricket witnessed in the first Test at Hyderabad, some 600 km away.
They have another compelling reason: local lad K.S. Bharat. The wicketkeeper is all set to play his first Test on his home ground. “Playing in front of your home crowd is definitely special,” he said. “But emotions aside, I am looking at this as any other Test for my country.”
As you travel to the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium, you could see posters of Bharat on the road. “There will be good noises, bad noises, but the thing is you will have to be in the present moment,” he said. “But if you look at the bigger picture, there is a Test game to be played and my, and the team’s, whole focus is definitely on that.”
He said the Indian team was looking to bounce back. “That is something we have always done well,” he said.
Bharat said England played the sweep and the reserve-sweep well. “They played really good shots. Pope batted us out in the second innings. In cricket and in any sport you have to learn and move forward.
“It is not that we don’t know how to sweep, reverse-sweep or pedal, but on that particular day, it depends on the situation.
“We also practised the reverse-sweeps before the first Test, but playing them in the game is an individual plan. If the team demands us to play in a certain way, then we are up to it. But individually we all have separate plans and are looking to do well as batters.”