Back in 2019, Indian paceman Navdeep Saini earned the call up in the Indian side under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Before getting into the national team, he played under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir for Delhi in Ranji Trophy. So, the youngster has experienced the captaincy of both Virat and Gambhir.
Saini made the debut last year against the West Indies at their home. So far, the 27-year-old has played five ODIs and 10 T20Is. He got the opportunity in ODIs after Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got injured ahead of the ODI series against the Caribbean at home.
Before making the debut, he had a brilliant season for Virat led Royal Challengers Bangalore. In IPL 2019, Navdeep Saini was a mainstay in the Bangalore franchise, picking up 11 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 30. He has also played 45 first-class games and picked up 125 wickets.
Saini said that Virat and Gambhir motivate him to give the best shot in the field. He further said that the Indian captain taught him to be mentally strong through his preparations.
“One captaincy trait similar to both Gautam bhaiya and Virat bhaiya is that they give 110% effort to everything on the field. I’ve learnt this from Gautam bhaiya right from the start when I played Ranji Trophy under him and then I learnt the same from Virat bhaiya in the Indian team,” Navdeep Saini told cricket.com
“One captaincy trait similar to both Gautam bhaiya and Virat bhaiya is that they give 110% effort to everything on the field. I’ve learnt this from Gautam bhaiya right from the start when I played Ranji Trophy under him and then I learnt the same from Virat bhaiya in the Indian team,” Navdeep Saini told cricket.com
Saini would have featured in the impending edition of IPL. The tournament was important for him to get the chance to play in the T20 World Cup 2020.