Dubai: Ansh Tandon, the UAE’s 16-year-old rising star, had a first-hand experience of how the Indian Premier League’s top international cricketers gear up for the world’s richest and most popular Twenty20 league.
Tandon, who bagged the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-16 Western Region tournament best batsman award this year, trains at the Robin Singh Sports Academy in the UAE.
Singh, who is the batting coach of the Mumbai Indians, presented the boy with the dream opportunity of practising with the IPL’s star studded players for his consistency and hard work.
Speaking to Gulf News on return from Mumbai, a star struck Tandon said: “I got selected to the Robin Singh Sports Academy High Performance Camp in the UAE and trained under him. Robin gave me this opportunity by inviting me to the Mumbai Indians training sessions. I attended the skill improving sessions along with the Mumbai Indians players and the experience was simply amazing. I have come back learning a lot from there. I will work hard on the few tips that I picked from there.”
Tandon returned after four days of intense training in Mumbai to captain Sharjah Under-19 team in the ongoing Inter-Emirates tournament.
“The whole experience in Mumbai was special because I got to interact with Mahela Jayawardene, (Mumbai Indians head coach), Kiran More (former Indian wicketkeeper) the Pandya brothers, Shane Bond (bowling coach) and Lasith Malinga (bowling mentor). I got a few tips from them but really good ones indeed.”
Further elaborating on his experience, Tandon said: “It was exciting to have gym and fielding sessions with all of them. I watched every cricketer train and sharpen their skills. Watching them closely, I realised how skilled they are and how hard they work and what I need to do in future to be like them. The gym workout was at the (team owner) Ambani’s guesthouse. We also trained at the Reliance cricket ground and at the Wankhede Stadium. On April 23, I will be going to Chennai to be with the Mumbai Indians again.”
Tandon could not contain his joy at being able to wear the Mumbai Indians team jersey while training.
“To be honest, I got goose bumps wearing the Mumbai Indians jersey. It was a proud moment for me. Robin’s advice to me is to have faith in myself and I will be able to achieve my goal.
I stick to it and apply all the things he tells me to do.”
“My dream now is to play in the IPL. I am working hard with faith in me that one day I will be able to achieve this goal,” he added.
