Australian all-rounder –D’Arcy Short, is excited with his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) contract, saying that he is eager to come to India and learn about the people, and the culture playing with Rajasthan Royals.

The Western Australian, who was the leading run-scorer in the Big Bash League 2017-18 with 504-run from 10 games, was brought up by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Rs. 4 Crore for the IPL 2018, is excited to play and work with the some great of the gentlemen’s game in India.  

Short told Sportstar, “It feels great to be going to the IPL; it will be my first time to India so I am excited to learn about the people, the culture and of course playing with Rajasthan Royals. There will be so many great players to learn from – guys like Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.”

The southpaw went to further admitting that playing in India presents different challenges but he will adapt to the conditions once he arrives saying, “Obviously, playing in India presents different challenges. So I’ll certainly be talking to my teammates – both local and international – who have played in India and look at ways to make sure I’m batting deep into the innings.”

On being asked if a good IPL outing could further his case for future Australia selection, the 27-year-old replied, “I’m not really looking that far ahead. Being picked for the T20 games this summer is a great thrill and I’d love to represent my country as much as possible. The IPL is about scoring runs for the Royals and hopefully be there at the pointy end of the tournament.”

He also said that there is always pressure whenever you play professional cricket when asked if the hefty price tag adds that extra pressure in his very first IPL season. 

Short signed off by saying, “There’s pressure every time you play a game of professional cricket. I just really wanted the opportunity to play in the IPL. It is such a great tournament with so many great players and I’ll learn a lot from the experience.”