The aggression with which India played against the mighty Australians in the recent home series was not fake and the world should be ready to see more of it, says middle order batsman Robin Uthappa.
Uthappa said aggression comes naturally to some of the players and the young team is now willing to pay back to the opponents with the same coin.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, Uthappa said his best is yet to come and warned the Australians to expect a "tough series" when India visits Down Under later this year.
Uthappa also talked about the forthcoming series against arch rivals Pakistan and said he wants to play a big part in helping India win the series.
Excerpts:
Earlier this year you played two blazing knocks against West Indies in the home series. Then you were in contention for a berth in the Indian squad for the World Cup in the West Indies. That time you had said that your best is yet to come. Since then how far you have progressed?
I think my best is yet to come and I have got into the work 30-40 per cent. I think I have got a lot more left in me and lot to prove to the country and to my team mates. There is lot more to come and I am looking forward to every game, coming up from here onwards.
How are you preparing for the upcoming Pakistan series?
It is going to be a tough series. They have been playing decent cricket as well. We both played in the Twenty20 World Cup final and those games were exciting. Definitely it is going to be an exciting one since we will be playing them after a very long time.
What will be your strategy against the Pakistan bowlers?
My strategy is to keep it as simple as possible, just keep the bat to the ball. I want to play my shots as well as give respect to deserving deliveries.
Do you see Pakistan as a weak team in Inzamam-ul-Haq's absence?
I think every team looks forward after a point in time. You cannot have Inzamam playing for them forever. Every team has to look forward. Every team will have mixture of next generation players and experienced one as well. We hope to play some good cricket and beat them.
Do you feel the Indian team's new-found aggression will continue?
It will, definitely. We youngsters, who have come into the side, have always played cricket very aggressively from our younger days when we played for under-19, India A and under-17. So we will continue playing this way. This is quite a change Indian cricket has seen.
Is it not fake aggression just to unnerve the opposition?
No, it is not fake aggression. Whatever people give they will get back as well. We are not going to sit back and take it like we used to before. We do not have to take nonsense from anybody. If they are going to give it to us then they have to take it back as well.
What can the Australians expect back home during India's tour later this year?
They can expect a tough series. Definitely it is not going to be a whitewash like they have said. It is going to be a very tough series and I am not the one for making predictions. But I can tell you we are going to be aggressive and it is okay if they are playing on their soil.
We will fight fire with fire if that is what needs to be done. But we have Pakistan here to play in three Tests and five One-dayers before going there. We are not focusing on that [Australia tour].
We have seen you get out quite a few times after getting your eye in. You seem to throw your wicket away after reaching the half-century mark. Is there anything called temperament that you have to improve upon?
Not really. I have batted only in the middle order in the last 7-10 ODIs. I played just once in the top order. Even on that occasion I batted pretty well, scored a fifty and got out to a decent ball. So I won't really say that I am short on temperament.
It is not that I have only one track mind of batting, I have the ability to change according to the situation. And all that runs I scored to be selected for the Indian side are in the longer versions. I scored 1100 runs before I got selected for the Indian one-day side and all of them in the longer versions which had six or seven hundreds.
Your strokes are so powerful. Where do you get strength to hit those shots ?
By the grace of God I have been blessed with some natural talent. That has worked for me. I have been working on my strength as I used to be a fat kid when I was younger. I worked quite hard shed kilos. I am just 21 and hopefully by 23 or 24 hoping to be in best shape of my life.
How are you managing your studies amidst the busy schedule of cricket?
I have already finished my degree in Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College [in Bangalore]. It has been a fantastic college which supported me all through my B.Com years.
I think it is a phenomenal college for sports people. They have done tremendous amount of work for people like
Pankaj [Advani], Shikha [Tandon] and me. We have about 120 international athletes in our college which really speaks volumes of what our college does for sports persons. I am looking to do my MBA at Jain College if time permits.
Is there anything the Indian team is looking for from their millions of fans in the country?
Certainly the blessings of our countrymen to the whole side and to me. We know with the blessings and prayers of our people we will definitely deliver. I think the kind of team we have now is a very confident bunch. All we need is the support and the prayers of our country.
