Slightly challenging’: Tilak, Ishan call turnaround between Duleep Trophy final and Afghanistan T20Is ‘difficult’

Chennai, Sep 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan admitted that the short turnaround between the end of the Duleep Trophy final and the start of the Afghanistan T20I series is "difficult" but that it is their "job to adapt" as the two players gear up for a quick switch between formats.

Tilak and Ishan will be leading the South Zone and East Zone, respectively, in the Duleep Trophy final, which gets underway on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The scheduled end of the final is on September 10, three days before the T20I series against Afghanistan commences from September 13 onwards.

Not only is the gap between the two events short, but also the complete change of formats and the playing approach stands different, as Ishan, Tilak, along with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, gear up for the red-ball and the T20I challenge in the next few days.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, the two cricketers spoke on the short turnaround. "I don't know. How do I tell you? It's just about knowing what format you are playing," Ishan said on the eve of the final.

"Sometimes it gets difficult when you are playing a Test match, and suddenly you have to go and start hitting from ball one, and suddenly you have to go back to your domestic team, and you have to play a whole different role. But at the same time, I feel, as professionals, it's our job to adapt; we cannot be coming up with excuses after knowing this is like your routine for the next few days.

"So, it is better not to be in a situation where we have to make excuses, but at the same time be aware and be just mindful of what is going to happen, and I will be playing T20 after this. So my job will be different [in T20Is], but still I feel we are getting two days of practice before the Afghanistan first game, so it will be more than enough, I feel," he added.

Meanwhile, Tilak agreed with Ishan's remarks, calling the turnaround "slightly challenging" but felt the two-day gap between is enough. "But it will be slightly challenging playing five days here and again joining the [T20I] team. But from here we are going to Delhi; there will be two days of break, so we can practice there and we have enough time as well, but it will be slightly challenging.

"We know how to change our mindsets and maintain our body with good fluids and everything, so we have played back-to-back games before in the domestic as well as international, so we are quite used to it," Tilak said.

East Zone will be up against South Zone in the final of the prestigious Duleep Trophy from Sunday onwards, with glory on the line.

East Zone are looking for their first Duleep Trophy title since 2012-13, when they defeated Central Zone in the final to lift their second trophy, while South have been far more successful, having won 12 titles, with their last coming in 2023.

Source: IANS