After breakout IPL, Shashank Singh to rely on playing more reverse sweeps

Punjab Kings batsman Shashank Singh is busy taking his game to the next level after a breakout season in the Indian Premier League IPLAhead of the IPL 2025 Shashank Singh plans to employ the reverse sweep more often on the slow pitches and play fewer stupid shots to win more matches for his sideThough Punjab Kings had a poor season Shashank Singh emerged as the find of the tournament He smashed 354 runs with a strike rate of 16465 which in return impressed his friend and current Team India captain Suryakumar YadavShashank can also be called a later bloomer who moved to Chattisgarh from a highly competitive Mumbai cricket environment at the age of 27 to play firstclass cricketIn Mumbai he played with the likes of Suryakumar Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh were the only two players retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of the teams camp in Chandigarh Shashank spoke at length about his preparation for what will be only his third season in the IPL having made his debut in 2022 before going unsold the following seasonI am meeting the coaches and the players after last years IPL during camp We really have a good team to be honest And personally if you ask me Im planning how to do well on the Chandigarh wicket especially because last year we didnt do well in our home gamesSo obviously a very good time for me to prepare in Chandigarh because most of my life Ive played in Bombay So very good time for me to play in Chandigarh and prepare on the black soil wicket said ShashankWith the opposition now more aware of his game how does he plan to stay one step aheadAlso ReadT20Is Jos Buttler sets new record for mostI have been working on few technical aspects both on the batting and bowling front I am yet to meet him but Im in touch with Ricky sir new head coach Ricky PontingOn the batting front I have been working on bettering my pull and hook Ive started reverse sweeping because I feel that sometimes on slow wickets where its difficult to hit the ball towards long on long off towards deep wicket its better to just reverse sweep it or sweep itSo the last two camps Ive worked a lot Ive played what maybe 1000 balls reverse sweeping to spinners I have played the reverse sweep in the past but I just want to be more confident going into the season said Shashank who attributes the sharp growth in his game to clarity of thoughtThough T20 is a highrisk game he also intends to play fewer stupid shots this seasonIts a high risk game but at some point you have to take your chances for certain bowlers If you talk about that Mumbai Indians match last I dont think that taking the chance against Jasprit Bumrah was sensible He was their best bowler in fact he is the best in the world I could have targeted other bowlersYes a finishers role is a bit more difficult I would say it is a thankless job at times But at times you have to show your smartness and be more sensible said Shashank who is working on his bowling in the netsAnother good IPL season as a finisher can put him on national selectors radar but Shashank Singh is not thinking on those linesMy job is to win games for the team If the team requires me to bat at runaball Ill do that If the team requires me to bat with a strike rate of 200 I will look to do that tooShashank Singh also stated that the golden advice given by the greatest finisher Mahendra Singh DhoniOnce I had a conversation with Mahi Bhai MS Dhoni about this finishers thing So he told me that if youre winning three games for your team out of 10 you are in the worlds five or 10 best players That gave me really confidence that its important to accept that every match is not possible practically for me to winSo I just try to collect those good points which I did Just try to minus those stupid point or points which were not sensible said ShashankGrowing up in Mumbai Shashank Singh has played a lot of cricket in Mumbai and Ricky Ponting is one of the cricketers he has always admiredI have known Shreyas for almost a decade We used to go to DY Patil together sometimes in his car sometimes in mine We have played for Mumbai together and some corporate cricket as wellWhat stands out in Shreyas is that he has not not changed one bit since then We met at the camp recently He made sure everyone was comfortable When you talk to him about cricket he is very positive and confidentAnd Ricky sir I mean he is the best in the business I have prepared a list of questions for him I would love to hear what he expects from me and also share my thoughtsObviously I would be asking him about the pull shot from the front foot as barring him and Rohit Sharma all batters play the pull from the backfootWith PTI Inputs