Donovan Ferreira Opens Up On IPL Bench Years and The Mindset That Sparked His Breakthrough

Proteas and Rajasthan Royals batter, Donovan Ferreira, reflects back on how it was spending his first three Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons on the bench, and how that highlighted the importance of making opportunities count as the lower-order batter continues his dominance in India. 

IPL Lessons

Many retired cricketers have had their say on how T20 leagues around the world continue to endanger international cricket and how players play a factor in helping that process. 

Recently, former England captain Alastair Cook argued that England's newfound star, the 22-year-old Jacob Bethell, could have been developing his game more had he remained in England, honing his skills in the ongoing county season instead of warming the bench in the IPL.

Cook's comments were made with the thought that England will host New Zealand for three Test matches, with the series opener set to get underway next month at Lord's. 

Bethell plays a key role in England's Test team and has a very high ceiling, considering that the youngster scored his maiden Test century against Australia in Sydney earlier this year. 

However, Cook and many others who agree with him are not considering a series of important lessons that these leagues tend to dish out. 

Among many positive reasons, the youngsters get to rub shoulders with the best cricket brains in the world, a feat that helps accelerate their maturity. 

Proteas and Rajasthan Royals batter Ferreira's journey in the IPL is one that teaches the importance of patience and being sharp enough to take an opportunity when it arises. 

"For me, it was just important to make my opportunity in the IPL count. I've been here for four years now, and this is my fourth season. In the previous three years, I spent a lot of time carrying drinks and serving the other guys in the team," Ferreira told SportsBoom.co.za. 

"(This season) I just really didn't want to do that again. I've been having that conversation in my head, saying, when this opportunity comes, you need to take it with both hands because these opportunities are rare. They don't come by often, and it could be one game, it could be five games." 

"Luckily for me, they've given me a bit of a run, and it's paid off, and I've really worked hard on being ready against spin, against pace, and playing in these conditions. Prior to the tournament, I had a few net sessions, and I just felt ready for when the opportunity came, and luckily for me, it's paid off now."

Ferreira has been very successful in the tournament thus far, proving that he is one of the best finishers in the world with innings of 52off 26 against Punjab and 47 off 14 balls against Delhi. 

Ferreira reiterated that he still wants to achieve bigger and better feats. 

"It's important now to keep working hard, keep striving for better things and keep fuelling myself and motivating myself to win more games for the team because that's ultimately what my job is," he added.  

"Batting at the backend is quite difficult because the situations are never the same, but I enjoy the adrenaline. I enjoy the challenge that it presents, batting in those positions."

Overcoming challenges

The modern-day cricketer tends to endure a lot of criticism, be it about their lack of 'toughness' as compared to the previous generations, or for not putting international cricket first. 

However, many forget that the current crop of players deal with unique challenges, and Ferreira's story of how he turned pro is a prime example. 

Ferreira lost his contract at Easterns Cricket years ago, and was forced to work a 9-to-5 job, before he was discovered by the Titans, and now the rest is history. 

The 27-year-old says losing his contract set the bar for his endurance for disappointment, citing that even during his recent World Cup ending injury, he understood that it was a minor as compared to losing a contract and all hope of being a professional cricketer.  

"Losing my contract was quite harsh back then, having to go work. I finished studying, and I gave cricket a go, trying to play for Easterns. I actually got a contract there and then lost it. So, getting that email saying your contract's been terminated was a bit of a slap in the face. But I had to crack on and not dwell on it for too long because in life it's important that you focus on where you want to go." 

"When I got injured (weeks before the T20 World Cup), I said to myself, nothing can be worse than losing your contract. At least my collarbone can heal, and I can play cricket again." 

"So, I think the situation of losing my contract, at that point in time, I didn't really understand what the purpose of it was. But if I look back now to the injury that I got, I was like, this is not worse than losing my contract. And it's out of my control." 

"I had done everything that I could to be part of the World Cup squad. So, it was out of my control. All I could focus on then was doing the rehab, getting back as fast as I could, and getting ready for IPL. So, that was my mentality and the learnings that I've had with all the things that I've been through so far," he concluded.