After coming to the party with a solid 29-ball 39 to lay the foundation for MI Emirates’ strong total of 185, Muhammad Waseem speaks at the post-match press conference about a match that’s bound to go down in MI Emirates’ folklore. Excerpts..

On his solid start with the bat 

We are happy to have finished the day with two points. Happy with my contribution too. 

Whether he thought MI Emirates would end up on the winning side 

At one point it looked like we wouldn’t win the game when TKC (Tom Kohler-Cadmore) and Sikandar Raza were batting. But we showed belief and we knew that we were just one wicket away. When we got Raza’s wicket and a maiden over too, we started to believe. It was a top effort from the bowlers. Very happy with the team’s performance. 

On the rising level at ILT20

The competition has been rising year on year. Good players are coming in every year because every franchise is looking to develop their teams. The competition has become very tight. It’s good for the future of batters and bowlers if they do well in such leagues. 

On playing with big international players 

It felt good. This is my fourth year. Newer players might be under pressure but not me, because I have played with Polly and Pooran earlier. My team and management never put any pressure on me. This is my home ground and I try to share my experience with my players about the pitch. 

On batting with Jonny Bairstow in the middle

He has played a lot for England and is very experienced. What I liked about him is that after every ball, he talks to the other batter, whether he is on strike or at the non-striker’s. He talks about what we could have done on a particular delivery, what the ball is doing. This helps in releasing the pressure, which then helps later while batting. I have enjoyed batting with him. 

On Shakib Al Hasan’s presence within the team 

Shakib bhai is a great person and a player. We have played together in the past as well. We use his experience with both bat and ball. We will see him shine in the future matches.