Uthappa 2.0 has priorities laid out

Robin Uthappa was last a regular member of the Indian limited-overs team some five years ago. Between his last One-Day International appearance in July 2008 and now, he has played just two Twenty20 Internationals - one each in 2011 and 2012. For a man looking to make a comeback, that's not the ideal platform. And yet, Uthappa is not looking at a comeback - not just yet. "I truly believe I'm at the verge of beginning my career again right now," he tells Wisden India.

Begin again? Come again? Uthappa explains his reasoning lucidly. "When I first played for India, I was just 20 years old. I've played 38 games, and if you see, I didn't bat in one fixed position for more than three innings in a row. Every third innings, I was batting in a different position." Go over his international career and you'll see that apart from his first six innings, kick-started by 86 on debut off 96 balls against England in 2006, Uthappa's words are spot on.

"I'm actually an opening batsman, so if I'd played 38 games as an opening batsman, it might have been a different story," he says. "I'd have learned so much more and performed so much more. And I was really young, so I think I didn't grasp as much as I should have."

Older, wiser and, he says, much more aware of his game, Uthappa has been donning the opener's hat in the IPL, where he has been with Pune Warriors India since 2011. And though he's personally had a good run with the bat overall, the franchise itself has been on a horror run since its inception. What is baffling about Pune's poor show is that the team has always had several bonafide match-winners, and yet has failed to deliver.

"It's really hard to tell sometimes," says a pensive Uthappa about the lack of results, giving a possible explanation after a thoughtful pause. "When you look at teams that have done well, they have played maybe 15-17 players in the whole course of the tournament. And in the last two years, we've played 23-24 players on average. This is just my point of view, but I believe that to get the best out of people, sometimes you need to be persisted with. This season we've begun to do that. Keeping your cool under pressure as far as selecting teams is concerned plays a big role."

Uthappa places great emphasis on belief, of the player in his own abilities and of the team in empowering cricketers, while explaining at length how Pune have sometimes gotten stuck in a rut, unable to break out of the cycle of losses. The perfect example is their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 17 in Pune, where a sensational collapse from 101 for 4 to 108 all out resulted in an 11-run loss.

"During the course of games, when a team's gone through so many losses, there is this air of apprehension that goes around. There is hope for sure, but there's more 'oh what's going to happen now?' Like you saw in the game against Hyderabad. We got off to a great start, we were on course... but when push came to shove, under pressure, there was this same air of apprehension in the dugout. I think that tends to happen when teams experience a lot of losses and you're trying to get out of that rut. As a team, we just need to back ourselves, express ourselves and believe that we can achieve the goals we set. We've had some comprehensive wins against top teams, so it's not like we're a bad side. Once our momentum picks up, I think we'll be a very good side."

Uthappa has an example from his own international career to illustrate the value of belief. He was part of the Indian side that crashed out in the first round of the ODI World Cup in 2007, and the side that won inaugural World Twenty20 a few months later, effecting a complete turnaround.

"In that Indian team, we had a bunch of us youngsters and then they persisted with us. They did that beautifully. They trusted us and that just made us want to give out our best," he says. "A few of us experienced those losses in West Indies and we really wanted to get out of that. And yes, maybe we find ourselves in a similar situation in this team."

From his vantage point behind the stumps, a role he dons during the IPL, Uthappa has had plenty of time to observe how the game unfolds. He's also in the unique position of having played under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid (India), MS Dhoni (India), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Sourav Ganguly (Pune Warriors India). So what's his take on each one's captaincy style?

Rahul Dravid: Rahul bhai was a very intense captain. I could relate to him because we studied in the same school, and when he led, I could see the same characteristics of how people led teams in school. The same kind of discipline, work ethic and seriousness. I consider myself fortunate to have made my debut for India under him.

MS Dhoni: I played under Dhoni when he just began captaining the side. What he did beautifully was, he trusted the players with responsibilities and put no pressure on them. Captaincy never affected his psyche too much. He was very relaxed and made the whole dressing room feel very relaxed. He's one of those guys who is pretty laidback and never one for too many team meetings. He kept it short, sweet and crisp - which was great because attention spans of cricketers in a team meeting can be quite small!

Sachin Tendulkar: Paaji was a captain from the heart and I think he really trusted his instincts a lot. He was a great support in the dressing room. He really spoke well and motivated the boys, spending quality time with each team member. To have these great people just spending a little time with you as a youngster, you learn so much.

Anil Kumble: Anil bhai was always a great student of the game. He really simplified things for us. And he was a great motivator. When we had lost six matches out of six in IPL 2009 and he then took over the reins, the way he led... the intensity of the practice sessions, what he said in the team meetings, it was just so inspiring. It made people sit up and say 'You know what? It doesn't matter what the outcome of the game will be, we're just going to give 100%.'

Sourav Ganguly: Dada is again a student of the game, and he had great cricketing sense and knowledge. But for me last year, I think he was also probably under tremendous pressure. It was a difficult time for the team as such, and you can't really see the best of a captain when a team's doing really badly. My experience with him was pretty good, and what I realised is I got some really solid pieces of advice from him which I will keep till I'm done playing cricket. I saw him as a very aggressive captain - someone who believed in his instincts as a captain.

Uthappa has listened to and learned from each of his cricket experiences, and at 27, he is far from past his sell-by date. He's one of the lynchpins of the Pune franchise, and while the ultimate goal remains a return to the national team, Uthappa is a key member of the Karnataka side in domestic cricket too. For a state that has produced several outstanding international cricketers, the output has slowed considerably in the last decade.

"Karnataka has provided so many wonderful cricketers for the country and I truly believe there is a lot more left for me to give also," says Uthappa. "With the work, the kind of work, I'm putting in, I believe it's only a matter of time. I know I'm in the right direction as far as my work ethics are concerned and I've really worked on what's within my control and my game. It's shaping up beautifully and I see only good things coming out for me."