Thalaivan hopes to sizzle in a dual ‘avatar’

The Chepauk Super Gillies all-rounder is no stranger to facing the camera. His brother Karikalan, is an actor and Thalaivan is keen to follow his brother’s footsteps. “My brother has taken me to shoots with me. Apart from being a cricketer, acting has interested me a lot. I am talks with a leading director for a project and I hope it would go through soon,” Thalaivan said. But how does he manage a cricketing career and acting? 

“My focus is only on the shortest version of the game. That way I can excel in the sport and can pursue acting with ease. I can do justice to what I do that way,” the all-rounder added. Coming to the performance on the field, there can be no better person than Thalaivan to talk about pressure and big scores. Having scored a triple-ton, the third batsman after Sadagoppan Ramesh and Dinesh Karthik, in the state’s domestic season, Thalaivan soaked in the pressure of performing at a peak competitive level when he made his Indian Premier League debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad against his home state, Chennai Super Kings in 2013. 

Thalaivan has four double centuries too to his credit. The right-handed batsman, who is good friends with Darren Sammy, Dale Steyn and Kumar Sangakkara, said pressure of performance is omnipresent in the game. “We had pressure when playing the IPL. It was because of huge crowds and live TV apart from a host of cricketing legends watching every move of yours. There is a pressure everywhere. The big stars convert the pressure into performance and that is why we see them play at a consistent level and they have reached where they are today,” the 30-year-old added. 

The Tamil Nadu player said he learned a lot from his interactions with the international players during his IPL stint. “Steyn once walked up to me and said even he messed up team plans and strategies while bowling to Chris Gayle as he had nightmares of the batsman hitting him out of the park when he was running into bowl. But the way Styen adapted to that situation by not bowling a bad delivery makes them the legends they are. A domestic cricketer would have been wayward at that point,” Thalaivan pointed out. Just like how the IPL had created overnight stars, Thalaivan hoped the Tamil Nadu Premier League would follow suit too. 

“In a way, the leagues are similar. Although we cannot expect crowds like how we had in IPL. It is a great opportunity for youngsters to make a mark in the shortest format and jump into the limelight. “The biggest advantage is the league being televised on TV and I hope the budding cricketers can grab the opportunity with both hands,” he added.