HYDERABAD: Fact 1: Martin Guptill is the second highest run-getter in T20Is (2272 in 76 matches at 33.91), just behind Rohit Sharma. Fact 2: Guptill didn’t play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first match, and is not expected to any time soon.
That is how life can be for certain top performers when it comes to the IPL. Guptill, who last month scored two consecutive ODI tons against Bangladesh, is taking it in his stride. “It’s funny. When I come here I don’t expect to play straight away. It was the same with Kings XI (2017). I didn’t play straight away. I just try to do as much as I can to help those who are playing.”
The team is most likely to sport David Warner and Jonny Bairstow for the openers slot. And their performances in the first match, where both of them shone with the bat, could make it even more tough for Guptill to get a game as the tourament moves forward.
“I got an opportunity to play with Mumbai a couple of years ago and Kings XI the next year. I had the year off last year, and coming here this year, I am looking forward to hopefully getting an opportunity when the time comes but it’s one of those things, you bide your time until you get selected.”
Considering his performances for New Zealand over the years, his foray into IPL was a bit delayed. Debuting in IPL in 2016, he has played just 10 matches at an average of 21. And he was not picked by anyone in the last season, despite having good returns in Caribbean Premier League.
“I have been up in the auction a few times and I have been picked up but when I go into the auction, I go in with reasonably low expectations. If I get picked up, that’s great and if I don’t get picked up, then I am not too disappointed,” he summed up.
The swashbuckling right-hander, who struggled for runs when India toured New Zealand early this year, revealed that he has corrected a few flaws in his batting.
“There were a couple of balance issues. I wasn’t loading up properly in my sit up and that was causing me to play different lines than what I would have liked to. But I watched a lot of footage of what I was doing at that time and what I was doing previously that was working for me.
“I managed to work on those hard and got a couple of centuries against Bangladesh. I am just looking to carry on that sort of rhythm and form that I had there and if I get an opportunity to play, hopefully I can translate that in the middle.”