Atharva Taide interview: 'Shikhar Dhawan is calm, very relaxed', says Punjab Kings youngster

Atharva Taide is just 23 years old and may not be a household name in Indian cricket just yet. But in the next few years, the Akola-born cricketer could be the “next big thing”. For that to happen, though, Taide has a long way to go and the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a stepping stone to that success.

Taide, who plays for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL, was in the news after he scored a century for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Karnataka. And to replicate that kind of a success in the IPL, Taide says the presence of international stars like Kagiso Rabada and Jonny Bairstow helps him build that confidence.

Taide, who was acquired by PBKS for his base price of Rs 20 lakh at the IPL 2022 auction, made his debut in the 2023 season and would score 186 runs from seven matches at a strike rate of 144.19, including two fifties. One of those fifties (against Delhi Capitals) came during a mixed outing for PBKS and him, when he was retired out soon after scoring the half-century as Punjab Kings opted to bring in Jitesh Sharma. PBKS would go on to lose that match by 15 runs but Taide is not thinking about it too much.

The all-rounder caught up with Firstpost on the sidelines of IPL 2024, where he spoke about Shikhar Dhawan as PBKS skipper, their chances this season and more:

Excerpts

Q: Shikhar Dhawan has been leading Punjab Kings for a couple of seasons now. Tell me about his captaincy and what have you particularly learnt from him?

Atharva Taide (AT): I think Shikharpaji has been a revolution to this side as a captain. Kyonki jo vibe unhone leke aaya hai as a captain, accha captain saare hota hai but woh comfort zone leke aana team mein unke players ke liye, which is what Shikhar Dhawan has done, kyonki as a person woh same tarah se hai (He brings a comforting vibe to the team because that is the kind of person he is in general).

He is very calm, he is very relaxed. He knows his job is and teammates and once everybody knows that, to get out there and perform and to give results. Personally as a batter maine kaafi kuch sikha hai (I’ve learnt a lot), how he starts his innings, how he gets those thirties into fifties and fifties into seventies particularly.

There’s always been pressure on a team like Punjab Kings who are yet to win an IPL title. How do you handle that pressure and deal with the outside noise?

AT: I don’t feel hum log ke upar pressure hai. Pressure hai un log ke upar joh jeete hai tournament. Kyunki un log ko defend karna hai (I think the pressure is on those who have won the tournament and have to defend it). Honestly, we don’t have anything to lose and if we win a tournament that’s going to be news. And this is what we think, this is what the positive mindset that we have, kyunki pressure toh sab team ko hai. Aise koi team nahi hai poore IPL mein pressure nahi hai (every team has its pressure in the IPL). And the white noise you are talking about, woh bhi sabke uppar hai. But we keep doing our process, we keep doing our hard work, and if we take one match at a time, we will definitely win the championship one day.

There was talk around the cricketing fraternity after you retired out against DC last year. You had scored a fifty then. How did you take all the talk around you being retired hurt. Did you feel any pressure?

AT: I think aap kaise bhi batting karo, talks hone wali hai. Achha karo toh woh bhi baat hogi, nahi karo toh bhi baat hogi. But in this particular inning, definitely there was a lot of talk and I think it was a team’s call, which is fine.

And I feel even though we couldn’t win that match, even though we couldn’t get the result that we wanted, but the process was fine. And this is what we focus more on, theeke, last five overs hai jo big hitters hai jin par hum log itna bank kiya hai throughout the season, woh log batting karte rehna chahiye. And even though we didn’t win that match, I have full faith in the batters, especially myself. Next time a similar situation arises, there won’t be any other thing apart from us winning the game.

You scored a century in the Ranji trophy quarterfinals against Karnataka but the IPL is a different ball game altogether. There’s more crowd and expectations are a lot higher. How different is your approach towards the two formats?

AT: In different formats, especially in T20s and Ranji Trophy, mera approach different nahi hota hai. My approach is always to win games for my side, aur mera ek hi approach hai to play according to the situation, be it T20s or Tests. Of course intensity is different, but approach won’t change. You go out to the field to score runs and win the match. In Ranji Trophy, the crowd is generally less but it comes with different challenges. You have to bat all day.  There’s a new ball taken after 80 overs. IPL, meanwhile, has crowd, it has the media. IPL has all the best players in the world. So, if you have the same approach going throughout the formats, it will help you be consistent enough to score across formats.

You share the dressing room with the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Kagiso Rabada and so on. What is the encouragement you get from them and how does the presence of seniors like them help youngsters like you?

AT: I think it helps a ton. Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, they are one of the elite players in international cricket. When they walk out in the field, I usually observe what their approach is on the field or what they think outside of the field. That gives me confidence as to which direction I should go if I go onto not only just play international cricket but to dominate it. So, I think it helps me a lot.

Q: Who is your cricketing role model?

AT: I don’t have a cricketing role model, honestly. Mera ek hi role model hai, which is a person I’ve been watching since I’ve been growing up is my dad. No matter what, he has done so much for me, has done so much hard work. Each day he gets up, he does his job and by the end of the day he comes back to us, to his family and he comes back with the same smiling face every day. Even though he has a bad day, he has a tough day, doesn’t matter to him.