‘A bundle of energy’ would be an apt way to describe the Karnataka opening batsman, Robin Uthappa. After a hard and long day in the field followed by an unwinding session with the ball, the opening batsman displays the same exuberance in the post-match interviews as he carries on the field while batting or fielding. Along with setting the tone for his team’s innings, Uthappa has shouldered the responsibility of guiding the young guns with his experience. A vital cog in the Karnataka line-up, he has amassed 610 runs from 14 innings in eight matches at an average of 46.92 in the league phase of the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season as the defending champions work to retain the title. Clarity of thought, meticulous planning and diligent hard work has contributed in shaping the 29-year old’s success. However, the batsman is keen to ensure that he doesn’t rest on his laurels and continues to constantly work on honing his craft. “You have to keep working on your skills. There is always something that you can do a little bit better so you keep working on those things,” he said while speaking to bcci.tv about his batting. With his continuous effort to better himself, Uthappa hopes to stack up the runs that will help him make his way back into the national squad. Even as he works on the skill aspect, the opening bat focuses on staying in the present and urges those around him to do so as they look to retain the coveted Ranji Trophy. During Karnataka’s last game of the league phase in Mumbai, Uthappa spoke about his batting, his team and their efforts in keeping the winning momentum going. Excerpts from the interview: The form that Karnataka is in since the last season must be pleasing. We have understood what it takes to do well as a team. I think everyone is keen on performing well for themselves and doing well individually because we know that individual success brings about excellent team performances. We make sure that we train in that sense and approach each practice session in that sense. We help each other out so there is a great sense of camaraderie within the unit. It is quite a healthy set-up. You have played a crucial role in the team’s success with the bat. Tell us about your preparations. I like playing a lot of balls before a game so I try and make sure that at least a few days before a match I play a volume of balls. It helps me get my rhythm going, my focus going. If there are a few things that I need to work on, then I focus on those as well. There are always things that you need to keep working on. You have to keep working on your skills. Your feel is not something that you own; you just need to keep working at it. As long as you keep working that is going stay with you. We need to keep doing things well and at the same time in a season like this where games are back-to-back you also want to take care of your body and make sure you rest well enough. It is a mixture of the two things. Rest is also an integral part of sustaining yourself for the whole season. So that’s something that I look forward to doing before every game. Keeping the momentum going is also not as easy as it sounds. How do you work on that? Sometimes it so happens that you tend to take one session a little lightly and you see the game getting out of your grasp when it can possibly be in your grasp. You tend to get complacent and you have to ensure that you don’t. You need to stay focused and win sessions in the longer format. So that’s what we look to do – try and win sessions. We set ourselves targets in each session and then try to achieve them. Personally what have you done differently this season? Last season I was out for most of the season but this season I am playing most of the games. I am happy to be contributing to the team but I am definitely not very pleased with the way I have played in the last couple of games. I began well but the last couple of games have been little bit of a glitch. So I am looking forward to stringing up stronger performances – performances that I believe reflect my ability and the quality of my batting. I want to be able to make contributions that turn the match in our team’s favour and achieve the targets that I have set for myself. Your role in the side widens to that of a senior member. Talk us through it. The one thing that works for me is being in the present. I think the boys understand the importance of that. As a senior I think that’s my job and my responsibility to make sure that everyone is in the present, everyone is staying aligned to their skills and to their targets and to their own performance. Also, to keep them motivated and help out if they are not in good form and just try and make sure that everyone is feeling good in the dressing room. A positive atmosphere is always necessary, especially when you are winning. What can you tell us about youngsters like Shreyas Gopal and KL Rahul who have been instrumental in the team’s success? As far as I am concerned, Shreyas has always been someone who is equally good with bat and ball. Last year he was unknown. People didn’t know he could bat but we knew he is a very good batsman. So it’s not surprising that he has stacked up the scores. It is good see that he has come in in difficult situations and stacked up the scores. He saved us a game in Mysore against Baroda which was critical for us. When you are on a winning spree you don’t want to be losing games, you don’t want the momentum to be shifted. He was very aware of that and he saved the game for us. We appreciate his performances and we know that he is going from strength to strength. He is bowling well as well. It’s good to see youngsters coming in and grabbing their opportunities and making those spots their own. Rahul, we have worked together and I know the kind of work that he puts into his batting. Coming back from his first Test series, he seems a lot more relaxed as a batsman. Getting a hundred in Test cricket obviously eased a lot of burden off him. And I think he understands his game a lot better right now. And the last game (triple-hundred against UP) was a testimony of that. He was clear and just went out there and did what he needed to do and single-handedly won us that game. He is going from strength to strength and he is someone I believe will play for India for a long time. Who are the other young talents to look forward to according to you? In Karnataka we have KL (Rahul) who is good and Shreyas is good. (Sreenath) Aravind has made a strong comeback. I don’t see age as a concern because I think if someone is performing well than there is a lot of work that goes behind it and that needs to be appreciated and valued. There are so many youngsters in our team who are doing well. Even Sam (R Samarth) is batting well and Manish (Pandey) is doing well too. A whole bunch of us are hoping to be playing for India and hoping that it will happen sometime soon. Tell us what you find fascinating in both the formats (longest and shortest)? In the shortest format the lack of time to make decisions makes it a double-edged sword because sometimes it’s good sometimes it isn’t. At times when things are simple you try to get into a rush and make a decision that isn’t in the best interest of yourself and the team. In the longer format you again have a lot of time and the challenging part is to see through difficult periods when the bowlers are bowling well. In our conditions, in domestic cricket, we have conditions where the ball keeps doing something. The new ball, especially, does lesser than what the semi-new ball does. That phase of 30 overs is extremely critical. That’s what I look at as a challenging phase. To endure those mental and physical challenges of the longest format and winning the small battles is something that only cricketers can grasp. Battles on the pitch are probably difficult to comprehend or write about that but those are the things that as batsmen that encounter and on the ground you suddenly feel the momentum shifting towards the bowler. That’s when you have to respect the bowler for half-an-hour and then try to pull things back in your favour. You would be looking forward to carrying your form into IPL. Oh yes. It’s been a pretty good few years for me. I just want to improve on my performances. I believe that I have stacked up performances that people have taken notice of but I want to improve on those performances. I believe that I have improved as player because I believe in continuously growing as a batsman and not resting on what I have done in the past. What would be the goals for the season? In domestic cricket it is obviously to win Ranji trophy and hopefully be the highest run-scorer and to make sure that I stack up enough and more performances that selectors take notice of.