Have a special place in my heart for fans in Hyderabad, says Rahul Chaudhari

It was a memorable night for ‘Showman’ Rahul Chaudhari as he scored a Super 10 on his debut for Tamil Thalaivas against his former team Telugu Titans at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. In the post-match press conference, Tamil Thalaivas coach Edacherry Bhaskaran, captain Ajay Thakur and raider Rahul Chaudhari took questions for their team while the Telugu Titans were represented by coach Gholamreza Mazandarani.

Tamil Thalaivas

1. Would you say that the experience in your team triumphed over the youth of Telugu Titans?

Bhaskaran: Experience definitely does help. To have such veterans who can read the situation and react accordingly is extremely important to us. And the other thing was that the players we trusted repaid our faith in them.

2. Thoughts on the raiding unit’s performance?

Bhaskaran: We have three quality raiders in Rahul Chaudhari, Ajay Thakur and Shabeer Bappu. Rahul was in great nick today, so we ensured that he raids as much as possible. Even when he was tackled and was sent to the bench, Ajay and Shabeer were quick in reviving him. Our motto is whoever goes in to raid has to deliver.

3. Thoughts on the youngsters in the team?

Bhaskaran: We have a good mix of youngsters and veterans. The newer players look up to the likes of Ajay as their older brother and are motivated to perform well and give their 100%.

4. How was the experience of playing against your former team?

Chaudhari: I felt that I did well. I contributed in offence as well as defence. Ajay had my back throughout the match. And as far as playing against Telugu Titans goes, they know everything about me, just like I know everything about them. I knew they were expecting me to go heavy on the running hand-touch attempts so I changed my game and focused on picking up bonuses. So, the plan was successful tonight.

5. The fans in Hyderabad were very vocal in supporting you. Thoughts on that?

Chaudhari: I know the fans in Hyderabad have a special place in their heart for me and I have a special place in my heart for them. I was glad they were so vocal in supporting me tonight. Once people have love for you, it never goes away.

Telugu Titans

1. Thoughts on the match.

Mazandarani: There were a few individual moments where we could have done better, and their experience proved to be quite useful for them.

2. How would you curb this patch of unfavourable results?

Mazandarani: We have a very young roster. So, above all, the experience that these young players are gaining is the most important thing at this point in time. They will learn from this experience and rectify errors. So, over the course of the season, we will try to improve.

3. How do you plan to use Siddharth Desai against Dabang Delhi K.C.?

Mazandarani: We’ll have a discussion about our tactics. We’ll plan the best course of action and try to execute that against Dabang Delhi K.C.. Maybe we could look at our combinations and try some new ones in the upcoming game.