Lucknow Super Giants: Akash Madhwal has acknowledged that his sensational 5/5 for Mumbai Indians against Lucknow Super Giants in the 2023 IPL brought both a career boost and heightened expectations, with the pacer admitting that the benchmark he set for himself became a demanding one to maintain.
Madhwal's five-wicket haul in the IPL playoff remains the defining performance of his career, but he insists he has never viewed it as the end point of his journey.
“We cannot spend our entire cricket journey on just one performance. The best milestones come so we can set new records, break our own milestones, and raise our own benchmarks.
“I never took my 5/5 lightly. Even after that, I have prepared a lot so that I can do better, set a better record, and do something better. It is not that we take what has already happened. Our hard work is for our own betterment,” Madhwal told IANS in an exclusive interaction on Tuesday.
Looking back at the impact of that performance, Madhwal admitted that both the attention and the expectations that followed were significant.
“Both of these things happened to me, literally. The benchmark I set for myself was high, so people had very high expectations from me.
“Additionally, since I was playing in the IPL, I knew I had to perform better and improve. Both these factors were present with me, and I believe they both influenced me,” Madhwal added.
His route to the IPL was itself unconventional. Unlike many fast bowlers who enter the professional system at a young age, Madhwal first studied engineering and took up a job before pursuing cricket seriously.
“Sometimes I feel I should have started earlier, and then I feel it's God's plan. Whatever God has given is what you will get. But it is what it is.
“First, I studied engineering, then I took a job. After that, I started playing cricket. It was also because our state got an affiliation in 2019.
“Before that, we didn't have an affiliation. So, when I got an affiliation, I got a chance to play after a year. After that, I started playing professionally,” he stated.
Despite wondering at times about what his career could have looked like had he started earlier, Madhwal believes his journey unfolded according to a larger plan.
“But yeah, it’s God's plan. Whatever God wants happens," he said.
That belief has also helped keep his focus on the game rather than on the years he may have lost by entering professional cricket late.
“But yeah, it’s God's plan. Whatever God wants happens," he said.
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“I just want to tell myself that. I never want to leave the thing I am very attached to. And the dream of playing for India is still inside me. It’s just a matter of one good season that will lead me up to the top,” he said.