Kerala pacer Basil Thampi was more of shocked than happy after his inclusion in the Indian T20 International team for three-match series against Sri Lanka. He is the most promising youngsters among current crop of players, which he proved during the last season of Indian Premier League.
“I was shocked to be honest when I came to know about the selection from KCA secretary Jayesh George. In the last one year, I have become a much more confident bowler and I’m hopeful of doing well for India against Sri Lanka,” said Thampi.
Playing for Gujarat Lions in IPL 2017, he showed some serious fast bowling skills with toe crushing yorkers and aggressive pace. Thampi has the ability to take wickets in bundle, which takes opposition to a collapse.
He was seen playing for India ‘A’ against New Zealand ‘A’, where he took 3 wickets in 4 balls. In Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra, he cleaned up their tail-enders to conclude the innings. Thus, his wicket taking ability is never in any spot of doubt.
Tinu Yohannan, current Kerala bowling coach and former Indian pacer praised his student and said “Basil is one bowler who can make a sudden impact and turn matches around in quick time. His strength is definitely his speed. His basics are strong and now he’s high on confidence. It’s the right time for him to get into the Indian team. I expect him to make an impact as a bowler for India too.”
Thampi is among the finds of IPL, where he delivered his best performance to grab the headlines. ”The IPL match against Mumbai Indians was the turning point. I bowled 12 yorkers on the trot against Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard and everyone started noticing me,” he told to TOI.
While recalling an advice from former Australian legend Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, he quoted “Don’t lose pace was one thing that he (McGrath) told me and I have been keeping that in mind whenever I bowl.”
India-Sri Lanka T20I series will commence from December 20 in Cuttack, before heading to Indore and Mumbai for respective matches on 22 and 24 December.
