Jaipur, May 9 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowler Yash Raj Punja said staying calm and focusing on one ball at a time has helped him deal with the pressure of playing in the Indian Premier League, adding that performing in crunch situations gives you a much bigger reward.

“There’s always a reward on the other side of pressure. The bigger the pressure, the bigger the reward. And the thing we do to combat the pressure is just to stay in the moment and take it ball by ball,” Punja said in a video released by IPL on X.

The youngster also described the unique feeling of bowling in front of packed IPL crowds, saying the atmosphere strangely helps him concentrate better once he steps into his run-up.

“There were nerves leading up to my over. But maybe it’s a thing of the IPL where the moment you’re in the middle and you’re bowling and you’re in your run-up, it’s like the outside world just shuts down. You can’t hear the noise, you can’t hear the music, you can’t hear anything else. It’s just you, the batsman and the ball,” he explained.

Punja, who comes from the UAE cricket system, said playing in the IPL had always been a major dream for aspiring cricketers back home.

“No surprise to say that the IPL is the biggest cricket league in the world. And coming from the UAE, where a few kids would dream of being in the IPL as cricketers in the UAE, I just wanted to do whatever it takes to be a part of the best league in the world,” he said.

The spinner also spoke about the benefits of moving from being a net bowler to becoming part of the Rajasthan Royals squad, highlighting the support he has received from senior players in the dressing room.

“Coming from being a net bowler to a player in the team, there’s obviously a lot more perks. Being able to talk one-on-one with Sanju sir, Jaddu bhai, Yash bhai and Riyan bhai has been great, whether it is spin bowling with Jaddu bhai or fielding,” he said.

Punja also praised teammate Ravi Bishnoi for bringing energy and humour to the squad atmosphere.

“Ravi bhai is a really funny guy. He knows how to lighten up the dressing room. Just from nowhere, he’ll say something or do something, and he’ll have the whole dressing room cracking up,” Punja said.

The youngster also spoke about Rajasthan Royals’ Pink Promise initiative match, which supports women-led transformation programmes across Rajasthan.

“Tomorrow we’ve got the Pink Promise match coming up, where once a year we support Pink during a match to support a woman-led transformation all across Rajasthan,” he said.

Punja signed off by reiterating his commitment towards Rajasthan Royals and his ambition to one day play for India.

“I just want to keep doing well for my franchise and repay the support they’ve given me throughout. And obviously for any Indian cricketer, the ultimate goal is to represent India,” he added.

Acquired for ₹30 lakh at the IPL 2026 Auction, the 6’6″ leg-spinner from Karnataka (born in the UAE) quickly earned praise for his high release point and lethal googly. He has played two matches and taken three wickets at a good economy of 8.25.

–IANS

sds/hs