'It was an amazing feeling' - Deepak Hooda on his debut

All-rounder Deepak Hooda has said that it was his childhood dream to receive the India cap from the former India captain Virat Kohli during the team’s first ODI against the West Indies recently. However, he has always dreamed of playing for India and receiving the debut cap from either Kohli or the legendary keeper-batsman MS Dhoni.

“I made my debut in the first ODI, it was an amazing feeling. You always work hard for that. I feel blessed and honoured to be a part of the side,” Deepak Hooda said while speaking to teammate Suryakumar Yadav on ‘bcci.tv’ after Team India’s 44-run win over West Indies in the second ODI on Wednesday.

“Earlier also when I came in the team Virat bhai was not there. While growing up I saw him becoming a legend and Mahi (Dhoni) bhai was already a legend. It was my childhood dream to get the cap from either of them. Getting the cap from Kohli was an amazing feeling,” the Baroda player further added.

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The batting all-rounder had also been selected for the T20 squad in 2017 but didn’t get a chance to play as well. While he was asked what kept him motivated to make it to the national team, Hooda gave a brilliant reply.

He said, “I worked on sidelining the distraction and work on my process. Good things take time but keep yourself ready.”

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The 26-year-old, all-rounder, who has played an unbeaten 26-run knock in the first ODI and contributed 29 runs in the second ODI as well, is now eager to learn from the likes of the head coach and batting legend Rahul Dravid as well as the white-ball captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli too.

“Obviously, it is a great feeling to share the dressing room with Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. You always learn so much from them. I am just trying to learn from them. My goal is to keep working on my process with the same intent and not worry too much about the outcome,” Deepak Hooda concluded.