A top-order batsman, Mandeep Singh, has been making his presence felt in India’s domestic circuit since his Under 19 days. At 23, he has been handed the captaincy of the India ‘A’ team in the one-off warm-up T20 against the touring South Africans in Delhi on September 29. While the Punjab lad was expecting a call-up for the match, captaincy has been a pleasant surprise. As he looks forward to giving the visitors a run for their money, Mandeep feels that fielding would be a crucial aspect for the team. Speaking to BCCI.TV he mentioned that knowing the conditions at the Palam ground as well as having players, most of who have been playing for India ‘A’ in other formats over the past couple of months will help compete well against SA. Excerpts:

To be handed the captaincy for an ‘A’ team against SA - what does the opportunity mean to you?

Obviously it is a great opportunity. Leading India ‘A’ is an honour. There can’t be anything bigger than representing the country and leading the team. It makes me very happy to be able to do that. It is a big opportunity playing against South Africans. You look to do well and performance on that stage counts.

Were you expecting a call-up into the team and captaincy?

I was expecting that I might make it into the T20 (‘A’) team but wasn’t expecting the captaincy.

What are the kind of preparations that you and the team are looking at ahead of the encounter?

Honestly, I was preparing for the Ranji Trophy, but since I came to know about the selection I am working with focus on T20 in the nets. There will be practice in Delhi also for a day and we will try to make the most of that as well. We will meet Rahul (Dravid) sir as a team in Delhi and then we will take it from there.

Since I was practicing for multi-day matches (Ranji Trophy) I was playing more defensively. Now I am focusing more on taking singles. A batsman does hit four and sixes along the way, but the pressure builds when you play dot balls so I am working on getting singles and rotating the strike in the nets.

What would you like to focus on as a team in the short time you get?

I think fielding would be a very important factor. Given the side that is there all are good fielders so we will look to leave an impression on the fielding side. The young side is getting shaped for India where the fielders are brilliant so that would be kept in mind. And like I said before, we will play aggressively.

How do you look forward to making an impression?

To get a chance to play against South Africa is a big opportunity. If you do well there then your chances of making it to the next level increase and there is then the possibility of making it into India’s T20 team as well. I hope to do well.

How much does it help that most of the players have been in the mix and playing matches?

Yes, definitely (it will help). No matter how much you train in the nets, playing a match is always more helpful. Playing one match is equivalent to ten days of net sessions. So having players who have been playing matches is the best position to be in. What is your assessment of the opposition, who are known to be good travelers and have some of the big names in world cricket right now? South Africa is one of the best teams in the world. Other than that as long as we play our game in the right manner and play to our strengths then definitely we will able to compete well against South Africa as well.

What would be the approach given the kind of lineup that they have?

I think that given the lineup that they have our approach has to be aggressive. If we play on the back-foot (it won’t help). We look to compete well and give it our best.

Do you think that most players being familiar with the conditions at the Palam Cricket Ground will help?

Every year we do play some or the other match at Palam whether it is a twenty20 or one-day. The wicket there is usually slow and it is a little difficult for the batsmen. I do have an idea of how to go about at the venue and what bowlers to play and how to use them. Hopefully all that will help.

What would you say are the strengths of your team?

It is a good combination. Everyone has done well in the Indian Premier League, whether it is spinners or medium-pacers or batsmen. I think it is a good compact side. Rest, we will work out depending on the conditions and the wicket.

How do you look at once again getting the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid?

While being part of the India ‘A’ team during the Triangular series (against Australia ‘A’ and SA ‘A’) earlier also I had spoken to him. We did not discuss the technicalities so much but talked more about the mental approach to the game. I would like to continue working on that with him and a couple of other things that I have in mind.

Speaking about the mental approach, he said we get in to the technicalities a lot when we get out which is not that big a concern. It is more about the mental preparation, the game plan, which match you are playing and where you are playing is important; and how you go about it. So how to get better at that is what I am learning from him.

How much do you enjoy captaincy?

I have led the Punjab Under 19 and age-group cricket as well as in Ranji Trophy so I am a bit used to captaincy. Yes, I do enjoy it and handling the different situations. Sometimes you have to explain and make the players understand what is happening and why, there might be difficult situations as well but I like doing all that. Overall the things work out in the middle and you keep learning from experience.