Interview of the 12th Man:- Episode 2:- Pratyush.

So in this New Series of 'Interview of the 12th Man', Our Second Guest is Pratyush (@ps26_11) Bhai.

RJVV:- What were your Early memories of following Cricket? When did you start to follow it? Do you remember how old were you at that time?

Pratyush:- Been grown up in North, cricket becomes a part of your routine by default. I remember we bought a TV just because the family wanted to see 1999 WC. Though I was too small at that time. I watched 2003 WC, witnessed Sachin's 98 vs Pak, Dada's twin 100s & Nehra's 6 wicket haul vs Eng etc...Finals were 1st heartbreak for me as an 8-year old kid.

RJVV:- How has been your Experience of following the game for so long? Has it helped in your life in any way?

Pratyush:- It's very tough to be an ICT fan. Sometimes it hurts a lot. Been through so many heartbreaks ~ (2003 WC Final, 2007 WC group exit, 2014 T20WC Final, 2015 WC Semi,2016 T20WC Final, CT17 Final, 2019 WC Semi). 2007 T20WC, 2011 WC & 2013 CT wins came as a blessing in between.

Implementing cricket analogy in life I can say ~ Be on the crease, life will bowl some difficult deliveries. But we should stay on the pitch so that scoreboard will keep moving.

RJVV:- Have you been able to watch a match at the Stadium?

Pratyush:- Oh yes. I've watched UP vs Baroda Ranji game (2014-15), Duleep Trophy Final 2017 (D/N pink ball) & 2nd T20I b/w Windies & India at Ekana, 2018.

RJVV:- Who was your Favourite player growing up? Also, who is your Current Favourite Player?

Pratyush:- Growing up, I used to copy Dravid Sir a lot. Specially his cover drive. Sehwag, Ganguly, Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Dhoni etc have been my favourites at some point of time. Current favourite I will say KL & Virat.

RJVV:- Your favourite Knocks in Cricket? (At least 3)

Pratyush:- VVS 281(452) vs Australia, Kolkata Test

Kohli 133*(86) vs Sri Lanka, Hobart

Rohit 264(173) vs Sri Lanka, Kolkata

RJVV:- Your Favourite IPL Team is SRH, Your Memories following them?

Pratyush:- SRH is a very underestimated team. I like the Think tank (VVS- Moody- Murali..now Bayliss too) & their sensible fanbase. SRH is rarely involved in any controversy. 2016 was the best season for us I feel. We got Fizz, Nehraji, Yuvi, Hooda, Cutting in the auction. Warner led the team very well. Players like Dhawan, Bhuvi, Fizz, Yuvi, Cutting, Henriques & Bipul helped us to win our maiden IPL title.

RJVV:- Your Memories of 2007 T20 WC, 2011 ODI WC and 2013 Champions Trophy? How was the feeling and Celebrations after the Wins?

Pratyush:- 2007 victory was very special. Everyone has written off us. 2011 was my most favourite. Danced on the streets with friends. 2013 CT too, that Ishant over changed everything. Everyone is society was lighting up firecrackers.

RJVV:- Your thoughts about the Future of Indian Cricket?

Pratyush:- Future is very bright. We have a great bunch of youngsters now. Just want selectors to don't mix up formats or pick players due to state bias or social media pressure.

RJVV:- An Advice you would like to give our Indian Team Management and also SRH Team Management?

Pratyush:- To Indian Team Management;- Try to solve the middle-order puzzle. Don't pick similar kind of players at 4, 5 & 6.

To SRH Team Management;- SRH needs to solve their dilemma for overseas spots. I don't like them paying 11 Cr to Manish Pandey to play 1 or 2 good innings in 14 games. Vijay Shankar & Mitch Marsh are injury-prone. So need to play Abhishek Sharma instead of Garg. Release Stanlake & get a bowler like Meredith.

RJVV:- Your Expectations from our Indian Team in the ongoing Test Series VS Australia? (Interview was done before the 3rd Test).

Pratyush:- I feel that we can draw the series at least in absence of our main players like Kohli, Shami, Ishant etc. Few more players got injured too during the course of the tour.

RJVV:- Do you remember from when you have been an active part of Cricket Twitter? How has been the Experience?

Pratyush:- Experience have been good. Like everywhere there are all kind of people here. Just before giving a follow back, I check once that whether a person is a troll or not.

RJVV:- Task:- Given a Chance, who would you prefer between David Warner and Kane Williamson to lead SRH? Why?

Pratyush:- Both are like fire & ice. Their style is a bit different. Warner is very expressive while Williamson doesn't show many emotions but both are attacking in captaincy. I would prefer Kane though, it will help Warner to regain his form a bit.

RJVV:- Your Take on the Fanwars that keep happening here?

Pratyush:- I try to avoid it. For every grown-up person, its very childish to get involved in it. I see many people who are not even 16 & they are on Twitter. It's easy to hide someone else dp & tweet nonsense. Once you complete your college, you already have so much pressure on yourself. I hope people who do this, will invest in something constructive rather than trolling others' favourite for their own favourite player.

RJVV:- Finally, Your All-Time XI in any Format you Wish?

Pratyush:- My All-Time T20 XI:-

C Gayle B McCullum (C & Wk) S Watson AB de Villiers K Pollard DJ Bravo S Afridi G Swann S Badree U Gul L Malinga

Thank You for Reading.

Follow Pratyush on Twitter:- @ps26_11