His humility is what strikes you when you speak to Domnic Joseph. The right-arm pacer from Pune pursued his passion for cricket after fulfilling his family responsibilities. A late starter in India’s domestic circuit, the 34-year old from Pune has made his way in to the eighth edition of the Pepsi Indian Premier League.

Domnic, who works in the Ammunition Factory Khadki in Pune, played his first first-class match in November 2011 and was picked by the Delhi Daredevils ahead of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2015 based on his performance in India’s domestic circuit. On April 15, when the JP Duminy-led side takes on Kings XI Punjab at the MCA International Stadium in Pune, he will be playing an IPL match for the first time in front of his home crowd. “It will be a different feel.

It’s my home ground and I will be playing in front of home crowd. There will be some pressure, I have to perform.”DD Coach Gary Kirsten was one of those who was following Domnic’s progress, which led to the fast bowler being roped in by the IPL franchise.

“He (Gary Kirsten) told me, ‘I was following you in the Ranji season. I have heard your name. You have been doing well.

’ And then in the nets and matches too, he told me that I was doing well and (asked me) to continue doing the same and that he backs me.” “Hearing that (Kirsten’s appreciation and that he noticed me) I definitely feel very proud. I can’t believe that I am playing the IPL and am happy that I am getting to learn.

” Speaking about his interaction with the coach, the pacer said, “I have learnt a lot from him. He is a great coach. He backs us.

He doesn’t say much, encourages you to play your game. He just gives you pointers.” Talking about being part of DD, Domnic said, “It means a lot.

The first thing to do is to win a game and get points on the board. Win one game. We played well in the first two games but lost them off the last ball.

We have been doing well - batting and bowling - but just the win is eluding us. We have to get one win on the board, that will be a boost and we will continue from there.” Domnic, who picked up 22 wickets in seven matches in the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season, said “I would like to carry the performance from the domestic season into the IPL.

I had done well in the first game and then missed out in the second match. Now I hope to continue playing in this game the way I have been so far.”While discussing the shortest format, which is vastly different from the multi-day one, he said “In T20 you have to use more variations.

In T20 the focus is more on variations.” Speaking about his variations, he explained, “For me the focus in the slog overs is on bowling yorkers. In the first two overs it is normal wicket-taking (that I work on), and with the new ball I rely on swing.

In the slog overs, I concentrate more on slower ones and yorkers.”Combining pace and swing takes a lot of work. Speaking about his craft, the bowler elaborated, “Combining pace and swing is difficult.

Swing is natural. Everyone knows that the red ball swings more, (the) white (ball does) not (swing) that much, though in the beginning it does (a bit) and then you have to control the line and length.” Talking about his strengths, he elaborated, “Bowling line and length is my strength.

I don’t concede runs too often. I try to stop the flow of runs. If you can stop the scoring you will automatically get wickets.

That is my strength. The more dot balls I bowl the more wickets I will get.” While he enjoys the backing of Kirsten, he is also guided by mentor TA Sekar and senior paceman Zaheer Khan.

Talking about the advise he has received from them, he said, “They have been very helpful and giving me advice. They told me “you don’t have to tell us anything; we are watching you play and you are doing well. Where ever we see a weakness, we will tell you”, and they have done that.

They are backing me and I am getting to learn from them.”Elaborating further he mentioned, “Earlier I used to play with local players, now I am playing against international players. So for that Zaheer bhai (Zaheer Khan) has told me that one should observe the other players, how they play certain lines and lengths and (plan) how to do it (bowl to them).

And he has told me how to bowl to which player, and he has backed me up.”Excited and keen to translate his performance from the multi-day domestic format into the Indian Premier League, Domnic said, “The journey has just started. This is the main thing.

I still have to learn a lot from here. I have gained a bit of confidence. Now I have to learn a lot and I will move ahead.

”“It means a lot to play in the IPL. Every player wants to be play in the IPL. It is difficult (to get here) but I have worked hard and based on my performance I am here now.

And I have to do more (to stay at this level and progress),” he says. .

Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/5996/team-decided-to-fight-until-the-last-ball-axar