da jogodeouro： England’s other big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman talks about his experiences at the PSL and being picked up in the IPL auction by Delhi Daredevils

da blaze casino： Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-2016″Yeah, I got the gig. I somehow got a gig.”Sam Billings is talking about the IPL auction that happened on Saturday in India. Billings followed it from Dubai over Twitter. He was having lunch with his agent when he went unsold at the first time of calling. Billings, 23, who plays for Kent and England, had listed his base price at Rs 30 lakhs (£30,000). It was his first audition in the IPL.”I wasn’t holding my breath in terms of [getting] a deal or anything,” Billings reflects a day later at the team hotel in Dubai, where he is playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Islamabad United.Billings was picked eventually by Delhi Daredevils at his base price when the unsold players were brought back for bidding a second time later on Saturday afternoon. “I was actually chuffed. I was in a cab on the way to meet some friends when Delhi Daredevils tweeted saying ‘Welcome to Delhi Daredevils.’ It was all a bit surreal to me,” Billings says, flashing a big smile.As his mother reminded him on Saturday evening, a year ago he was in Bloemfontein playing for England Lions against South Africa A. A lot has happened for Billings since then. He has debuted for England in limited-overs, both ODIs and T20s, and made an impression on the selectors with his aggressive batting in the lower order.When it came to the IPL, Billings had asked his agent specifically to keep his base price at the minimum. “I put it at the lowest price possible to get some opportunities,” he says. “It is not about the financial gain. I have got no interest in the money as such at the moment. It is about getting the exposure to play with the best players in the world.”Billings is one of the three England players selected through the auction, along with Jos Buttler, who was picked by Mumbai Indians, and former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who went to Rising Pune Supergiants. Eoin Morgan will also be involved, having been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. “Welcome to IPL, bud,” was the congratulatory message sent to Billings by his close friend Buttler on Sunday morning.According to Billings, his explosive batting at the end of the innings is one of the strengths that have served him well so far. “Without doubt, being able to clear the boundary, being able to put pressure back on the bowler, get the score up towards a really high total towards the back end of the innings is what I have done for my county,” he says. Unfortunately, having steered a boundary off his first ball, Billings ran himself out while rushing for a non-existent single in Sunday afternoon’s match against Karachi Kings.

“I put the lowest price possible, I have no interest in money. It’s about getting the exposure to play with the best players in the world”Sam Billings on the IPL

Billings acknowledges ECB managing director Andrew Strauss’ support for allowing him to play in global T20 leagues to further his growth and confidence. “He is very keen for as many of us to go over and play in all the international tournaments because as English players we have been hindered [in the past]”.Billings has already cashed in on his PSL opportunity by picking up some coaching from former Australia wicketkeeper and Islamabad team-mate Brad Haddin. “I have got Brad Haddin teaching me keeping. It has already improved so much, otherwise I would not have taken that catch,” Billings says with a chuckle.The catch he is referring to came in the tournament’s third match, when Pakistan and Peshawar Zalmi opener Mohammad Hafeez attempted a steer to third man against Shane Watson. Sensing the batsman’s intention Billings moved quickly to his right and then dived to pluck the ball low, from where a first slip would usually stand.Haddin has been charitable in giving away valuable tips – and Billings has happily accepted. “He has helped me endlessly over the last few days,” Billings says. “It is amazing how the best players strip everything back and keep things simple: it all comes down to working hard. Their basics are so incredibly good, and that is what I want to get at.”Both men talked about the different styles of keeping in Australia and England. “It comes back to one thing: every keeper needs to be in that power position. We have just been talking about how he has worked at that and different ways he has done that with the physical training.”Then the drill work is amazing. He hits the ball so slowly when he hits [catches], because then you really have to hold that low position for as long as possible while the ball is in the air. As opposed to if you hit twice as quickly, you spend half the time in that low position. So he hits the ball off the bat really, really slowly, just to get your feet moving and get that rhythm going. Getting yourself as low as possible so you can explode – that is basically what we spoke about.”Straightaway after Billings came back to the change room having taken he catch off Hafeez, Haddin offered some words of praise: “‘That’s the position. Perfect,’ he said. He was more thrilled than I was.” Instinct, hard work and practice had come together. “It is very satisfying when things like that happen,” Billings says.It may seem odd for an Australian and an Englishman to team up, but Billings does not see it that way, considering Trevor Bayliss, a former New South Wales player and Haddin’s close friend, is England coach. Billings is happy to cash in on learning opportunities wherever he finds them.In the PSL, another learning experience has been in keeping wicket on slow, spinning pitches against good slow bowlers. “It is hurting my head concentrating,” Billings says with a laugh, talking about reading the likes of Islamabad team-mate Saeed Ajmal.Billings is happy to admit that he is the product of the T20 generation, and is looking to emulate his hero, South Africa captain AB de Villiers. On Friday, against Zalmi’s left-arm fast bowler and Pakistan international Junaid Khan, Billings noticed square leg was up. He went down on his knees and swept for six. “It is T20. You take it on. If I get hit in the face, I get hit in the face. You’ve got to be brave. You’ve got to be bold. The reverse sweep is one of my best shots. I know I got a little stick the other night for playing that. I am not fussed by that. It is probably my best shot. You have got be adventurous.”