Dubai: All-rounder Ravi Bopara, who has been ignored by England for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 Cup in India, believes his performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) are proof his country have made a mistake in leaving him out.
Bopara spoke out candidly while answering a query from Gulf News as to whether his performances have shown he should be considered as one of the better Twenty20 players in the game.
“It is a message not only for England but a message for me as well. I really wanted the opportunity. Most places I go around the world, I feel I bat too low. I batted too low for England for a long time. I would like an opportunity higher up the order. The latest I want to come in is at No.4. I don’t want to come after four as I prefer the No.3 slot,” said Bopara.
“When I came here at the start of the tournament my aim, as I sat thinking in my room for a long time after the draft, was that I would love to come here and be the man of the series. That was my goal – the goal was to win it with Karachi, or at least get to the final. It’s not over yet,” he added.
Bopara, who does not hold back his opinions, even admitted that he could not understand why - despite being the top wicket-taking bowler - he was introduced only in the 18th over against Peshawar Zalmi.
Bopara said: “I was fully fit. I don’t know. I can’t explain. I offered and thought I could bowl from one side in the middle overs but the spinners did do a good job. Shakib (Al Hasan) was bowling very well. Just that one over from Usama Mir which was expensive. I think it’s tough in T20 cricket when we do have a lot of bowling options.”
Bopara also did not hold back while admitting that his team’s performance was unsatisfactory. “We’ve played poorly. I don’t think we deserved to go through the way we’ve played if I am being brutally honest. But this league, four teams go through no matter what, and you don’t know what can happen in the play-offs. It’s a lot of pressure in the knock-out stage.”
To a query about the reason behind Karachi struggling in the tournament, Bopara said: “The batting has let us down on most occasions. We haven’t scored the runs that we thought we could. The players that we got have good records around the world. Shakib has scored a lot of runs around the world; Shoaib Malek is one of the best batsmen in Pakistan. Lendl Simmons has scored a lot of runs in the IPL. We backed everybody to get runs. It didn’t happen. If you don’t start the competition well, it’s very difficult as a batsman to grow in confidence during the tournament if you’re not scoring runs.”
But Bopara concluded by hailing PSL as a tournament. “PSL is right up there. Obviously, Indian Premier League is of very good standard. The Big Bash, I didn’t play much so I can’t really judge, but this has been the second highest of standards. I would rate IPL higher because it’s been played for longer. But this is right up there has been a fantastic competition, one of the most enjoyable for me.”
