CHENNAI: Two years after making his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu as a teenager, C Andre Siddarth, 20, is set to start a new chapter as a leadership figure. He will be R Sai Kishore's deputy in the senior state Ranji team this season. But before that, Andre will lead the state U23 side, the Col CK Nayudu winners, against Rest of India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, beginning Thursday.
While he understands the privilege and honour of getting a leadership role within the state setup, Andre, much like many of his generation, is not bogged down by it. In fact, he considers it as a blessing. "For the upcoming season, I want to take that elevation and move forward," he said on Wednesday.
Regarded as one of the talents for the future in the state, Andre comes into the season after a successful Tamil Nadu Premier League, where he helped Lyca Kovai Kings win the final. However, first-class cricket poses a different kind of challenge. While his numbers — 1117 runs in two seasons at 53.19 average — are good, for the state team to turn things around in Ranji Trophy, they will need Andre to move up a notch and go big. And the first step towards it would be making his chance count in the U23 match.
"Every season brings either external pressure or personal doubts. But that difficult season (last term) was also a blessing because I learned a lot about my character and my game. It was a very important season for me — more so than my first season where I scored 600 runs. Last season, I scored around 500-odd runs including the Duleep Trophy. There was a lot of learning from the game, teaching me to handle periods where runs don't come easily," he said.
"What I feel is that I'm not worried about results as much as I am focussed on how to improve. That's top of mind: staying grounded and improving every single day, rather than carrying expectations like "I must do this" or "I must do that" without focussing on execution," Andre added.
As far as being a leader is concerned, the 20-year-old is a massive fan of Steve Smith and has tried to learn as much as possible from B Indrajith. "As far as Tamil Nadu goes, I play under B Indrajith. Watching his captaincy, I've learned a lot, especially regarding field positioning. Looking at senior cricket, I'm a big fan of Steve Smith's captaincy. I usually watch him lead Australia. Those two are primary influences," he said. "From Indrajith anna (brother) — observing him on the ground, he would always be aggressive while knowing exactly which fielder to place where. It's mostly about bowling changes and high-game awareness. Watching him closely helped me learn that," he added.
The skipper also understands the significance of the contest against the Rest of India U23 side. "It is very important, especially for our group — the Under-23 boys, along with D Deepesh, V Athisayaraj Davidson, and myself. Playing against a strong Rest of India side provides great match practice. Ranji Trophy preparation-wise, we are shaping up well as a team, sticking together, and enjoying each other's success," Andre said, before adding, "It's an important match for me personally. I am captaining the state team again after roughly two years — I captained the Under-19 side in my second year before moving to Ranji. Leading the side in this match after the intra-squad game will be a tremendous learning experience against a quality opponent. Most of the Under-23 boys are familiar faces I've grown up playing with since childhood, so captaining them is a genuine privilege."