Tried to alter my technique to suit Test cricket at wrong age and lost aggression: Uthappa

PTI, May 20, 2020, 9:59 AM IST

New Delhi: Former India opener Robin Uthappa feels that tinkering with his batting technique at the age of 25 to realize ambitions of playing Test cricket became his undoing.

Uthappa, who is 34 now, last played for India in 2015 in Zimbabwe but is best known for his explosive batting during a run-chase against England at the Oval, followed by brisk starts during the historic World T20 triumph in 2007.

“My biggest goal was to play Test cricket for India. Had I pursued that at 20-21, I probably by this time would’ve played Test cricket. I wanted to have no regrets at the end of my career and wanted to be sure that I brought the best out of me,” Uthappa said during a podcast session of Rajasthan Royals.

He hired Pravin Amre and tweaked his technique but it led to a loss of natural flair.

“Hence at 25, I decided to overhaul my batting technique under Pravin Amre and became a more technically better batsman who could be there for long and bat for long hours and be more consistent, which made me let go of some of my batting aggression in the process.”

Uthappa, who played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India, did what he believed would have taken him to play Test cricket.

“I thought to play Test cricket for India, I needed to alter my techniques hindsight, I may have pursued the goal at the wrong time at 25 years of age,” he added.