Akash Madhwal: Dream of Playing for India Still Alive

'Dream of playing for India is still alive': Akash Madhwal

New Delhi, Sep 8

Madhwal, who has already produced one of the most memorable playoff bowling performances in IPL history with his 5/5 against Lucknow Super Giants in 2023, said an India five-wicket haul would carry far greater significance for him.

"Obviously, a fifer for India! Everyone who plays cricket dreams of playing for India. To represent India. It's the same for us too...To do something for India. To make a name for ourselves. It's the same," Madhwal told IANS in an exclusive interaction on Tuesday.

He said the hard work that began during his days of playing tennis-ball cricket has ultimately been driven by the ambition of representing the country.

"Whatever hard work is going on, whether it's tennis balls or whatever we started professionally, it's all so that we can play for India once. And we can represent India," he said.

Madhwal added that he hopes to replicate his famous IPL performance on the international stage.

"And the 5/5 that I picked in IPL for MI, I will do that for India too," he said. The fast bowler also believes he has more to offer than simply his reputation as a death-overs specialist and yorker bowler.

"As a cricketer, I have represented Uttarakhand. In Uttarakhand, I started as a strike bowler. And I used to rely on my strength for Yorkers and the death overs. So, I was a complete pace bowler," he said.

Madhwal said playing alongside some of the world's leading bowlers in the IPL exposed him to different conditions and showed him how captains could utilise his abilities.

"When we went to the IPL, the conditions were different. The world's number one bowlers were playing with you. So, the captain used you according to your capability.

"But I think I am a pace bowler. Because I have been a strike bowler for Uttarakhand. I have been a strike bowler. I have been a death-over bowler. And whenever you see super overs, I have bowled for my team. And I have won a couple of times.

"So, I consider myself a pace bowler. It's not like I can only bowl at a certain limit. It's not like that," he said.

Madhwal also acknowledged the intense competition for places in India's pace-bowling unit and said adapting to modern cricket would be crucial to his progress.

"As cricketers, we believe we have to represent India. So, we practise the same way in the off-season. In the previous season, what mistakes did we make? What did we learn? How did we move forward? What can we do better?

"As you said, there is a lot of competition for the bowling unit. We want to see how much we can improve. What variations can we bring? Because it is modern cricket. The sooner we adapt, the sooner we read the conditions, and the more chances we have to grow as a bowler," Madhwal said.

He said the focus is now on making the most of every competitive opportunity.

"So, we do the same in the off-season. We are executing the platform that we are getting. We are taking it to perfection," he added.

For Madhwal, however, the India ambition ultimately comes down to staying connected with the passion that took him into professional cricket in the first place.

"First of all, I started playing cricket out of passion. I asked my family for just one year. I told them I wanted to play cricket. I used to play with a tennis ball, and I had a love for cricket. So I asked my family for a year's time to play cricket.

"That passion for cricket is different. If I still get into the field, I don't know anything about the rest of the world. What is going on and what's not. Cricket is very different.

"I just want to tell myself that. I never want to leave the thing I am very attached to. And the dream of playing for India is still inside me. It's just a matter of one good season that will lead me up to the top," Madhwal stated.

— IANS