‘Tough but no excuses’: Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma advance from Duleep Trophy final to Afghanistan T20Is

File photo: Ishan Kishan, left, and Tilak Varma (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Transitioning from five-day red-ball cricket to the shortest format in a matter of days will be “a bit challenging”, admitted Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, but India’s T20I stars refuse to make the hectic schedule an excuse.Kishan and Tilak are all set to lead East Zone and South Zone respectively in the Duleep Trophy Final, which starts in Chennai on Sunday and will continue till September 10. Just three days later, India will begin their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in New Delhi, leaving the players with just a few days to recover, travel and prepare for a completely different format.Kishan, who is also part of India’s T20I squad, acknowledged the difficulty of switching between formats and roles.“It’s just about knowing what format you’re playing. I know it’s tough when you’re playing a Test match and all of a sudden you have to go and start batting from the ball first (in the white-ball format) and then all of a sudden you have to go back to your home team and you have to play a completely different role,” Kishan said at the pre-match press conference.Tilak, the South Zone captain and India’s T20I vice-captain, echoed his teammate’s assessment.“Yes, it will be a bit challenging… playing five days here (Duleep Trophy) and rejoining the (Indian) team. From there we go to Delhi, so it will be like a two-day break. We can train there. It will be a bit challenging,” he said.

“As professionals, it’s our job to adapt”

According to both players, adaptability is key. After spending years moving between formats and playing back-to-back domestic and international matches, they believe they can make a mental and physical adjustment.“We’ve played enough home games, we’ve played in every condition, so we can adapt. We know how to change our mindset and keep our body well hydrated and everything.”“We have played both domestic and international back-to-back matches before, so we are quite used to it,” Kishan said.The East Zone captain also made it clear that the players cannot complain about the schedule they already know they have to go through.“As professionals, I feel it’s our job to adapt. We can’t make excuses when we know this is your routine for the next few days. So it’s better not to be in a situation where we have to make excuses,” he added.“But at the same time, realize and be aware of what’s going to happen, and after this I’ll be playing T20Is. So my job will be different. But still, I feel like we’re getting two days of practice before the first game against Afghanistan. So I think that’ll be more than enough.”Tilak had earlier made it clear that he wanted to play the Duleep Trophy final despite his engagement in India, pointing to the two-day gap before the Afghanistan series. Subsequently, his participation was expected to continue, along with Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Padikkal adds firepower to the south zone

The south zone will also be boosted by the arrival of Devdutt Padikkal, who comes into the finals after a spectacular Test series in Sri Lanka. He scored 328 runs in three innings, including two centuries, and was named player of the series.Tilak believes that Padikkal’s form can significantly change the South’s batting line-up.“Yes, it will be a big boost for us. The form (Padikkal) is in, it will be really helpful for us and he can share his experience with the players. We have quite a few young guys in our side and it will be really helpful,” he said.The South captain also confirmed Padikkala’s batting position.“Padikkal will bat at number 3 and his coming into the side will strengthen our batting line-up, especially with the form we have seen from Padikkal in the last 2 or 3 matches. He has done really well. It will be a big boost for us,” he added.