N Jagadeesan was in the news when he broke Rohit Sharma's record of 264 runs when he scored 277 runs during a List A game between Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh. This was a test of the wicketkeeper-batter's mental strength, after spending three seasons with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but making only a handful of appearances.
Speaking to Indian Express in an interview, the 26-year-old opened up about his troubles while sitting on the sidelines, giving an insight into the pressures that come with playing in a side like CSK. “It is definitely very hard. There were times I felt really low. To be honest, I have even thought of packing the bags and going home. The only thing that kept me motivated was to keep working so that I get a game. When I was not playing, I thought this is the time you can mentally push yourself, you can’t let your mind drift away. When you are down, work harder.
"Last IPL season and the previous one in Dubai, I told myself that ‘it is ok not to play any matches, but make sure you work the most at the gym, at a net session… give full effort in the nets’ and leave the rest to others,” Jagadeesan added.
Jagadeesan made only seven appearances for CSK, and two in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. Now, he has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 90 Lakhs. Jagadeesan is expected to play an important role in the side, but even if he doesn't, the star batter can handle disappointment, given the way he was discarded by his former team.
“Last year when I went in, I knew I’m not going to get any matches. If the team does really badly, then I may get a chance to play. So it is hard when you do that because you want to grow as a player and not get stagnant and be thrown away like how they released me. It was definitely hard. But it was self-motivating.”
“As a cricketer, you don’t like getting dropped and in the IPL, it is like them literally throwing you away. You don’t want that to happen and it was hard to take for a day. But later, I realised that I have to accept that fact and make peace with it. After I realised this, I was happy… because I will get a solid three months to work and improve myself better. And it took the pressure off me because there is nothing to look forward to and just going to stay in the present,” Jagadeesan said.
