Proudest day of my life - Rasool

Parvez Rasool, the Jammu & Kashmir allrounder, has called his IPL debut for Pune Warriors the "proudest day" of his life. Rasool claimed the wicket of Kolkata Knight Riders' Jacques Kallis and conceded only 23 from four overs.

"This is the proudest day of my life," Rasool told the IPL website. "And the whole of Jammu & Kashmir was watching today's match and I am proud of that. I would like to dedicate my debut performance to the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir and all the well-wishers all around India."

Rasool had become the first cricketer from the state to be selected in an Indian team to play an international side when he was called up to the India A squad for a warm-up match against England in January this year.

Rasool said he had come to know he would be playing against Knight Riders only on the morning of the match. "The first couple of balls I was nervous. Then Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh) came over to me and helped me settle down. Jacques Kallis is definitely a legend; the best all-rounder in cricket. So, it felt really good to get his wicket."

'Bhuvneshwar bowls the inswinger just like I do' - Praveen
They play for the same state side, they are both swing bowlers, and for now, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken his senior partner Praveen Kumar's place in the Indian team. Praveen felt Bhuvneshwar bowled a lot like he did and said he had liked the young allrounder since his junior days.

"He bowls very much like me. I like his in-swinger; he bowls it just like I do," Praveen told the IPL website. "As far as improvement is concerned, he will keep learning the more he plays. He is playing for India now and the learning opportunities will be many.

"He's a very good lad. I have liked him since the day he came to our club in Victoria Bagh and since his Under-19 days. He's a hard worker and I truly hope he achieves much more in his career."

Bhuvneshwar was picked in the India squad for the Champions Trophy next month and Praveen said he wanted the former to have a good time in England. "I would just tell him to go enjoy himself, try different food there and work hard on his game. About bowling and batting he knows very well what to do."