Proudest day of my life: Parvez Rasool

Parvez Rasool, who yesterday became the first player from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the Indian T20 League, said he was ecstatic with the opportunity to play in the mega-tournament and dedicated his 'debut performance to the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir and all the well-wishers all around India.' Speaking to the official Indian T20 League website, Rasool stated that it was the proudest moment of his life and felt extremely proud that the whole of J&K were watching the game. "Yes, this is the proudest day of my life," he said. "And the whole of Jammu and 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." "I feel really great today. First of all, thanks to Allah, I have made it this far. It felt really nice to get an opportunity in the Indian T20 League and be able to perform at this level." The off-spinner said that he was nervous before starting his bowling for the Pune side against Kolkata, but the experienced Yuvraj Singh helped him settle. "Yes, the first couple of balls I was nervous. Then Yuvi Paaji (Yuvraj Singh) came over to me and helped me settle down." I just came to know (the morning before the game), and I was really happy and excited at the prospect of playing today (Thursday). I was training real hard for whenever I would get the chance to play for Pune. And I wanted to make sure I grabbed that chance with both hands," he quipped. Rasool ended the game with impressive figures of 1/23 from his four overs and said that it felt really good to start his account with the wicket of the best all-rounder in cricket. "Jacques Kallis is definitely a legend; the best all-rounder in cricket. So, it felt really good to get his wicket. After that, I also got a caught behind shout, but unfortunately my appeal was turned down by the umpire. But that happens sometimes. However, Jacques Kallis' wicket was something truly special for me," he said. The 24 year old stated that he had a plan for the left-handers and wanted to ensure they didn't take the attack to him. "There was a specific plan I was going by. For left-handers, my plan was to bowl on their legs, which makes it difficult for them to play their shots freely. So, that is what I was doing," he summed up.