'Warne is an inspirational leader'

Mumbai: He is one of the world's most formidable T20 players, but Dmitri Mascarenhas is having to warm the bench as his Rajasthan Royals team can't seem to put a foot wrong these days and as Roma Khanna discovered in this exclusive interview, Dmitri isn't complaining.

Dmitri Mascarenhas: It's been brilliant. The Yuvraj thing (hitting him for five sixes in an over) comes up a lot. It's all fun and it is nice that people remember things like that.

Roma Khanna: You have not played a match so far and you will be going back next week but the team it seems is doing really well and has a momentum going. How do you feel being part of the team which was not given much of a chance compared to other glamourous sides that we have in the IPL?

Dmitri Mascarenhas: At the start of the tournament, we were not given much of a chance but it has been absolutely brilliant and some unbelievable cricket has been played that I have seen on TV and since I have been here it has been remarkable, We are playing well. It is unfortunate that I have not been playing. That's what happens when you come into a winning side, it is hard to break in. Hopefully I will get my chance at some stage. I have been sitting on the sidelines, seeing my team win but the most important thing is that we win.

Roma Khanna: You are only here for another week now and you share a great friendship with Shane Warne. Tell us about the rapport that you two share.

Dmitri Mascarenhas: He came to Hampshire and I played for Hampshire in 2000 and we have been pretty close since then and we keep in touch and we are very good friends. He is an inspirational leader and he knows how to get the best out of people and that are the best qualities that you can have on the cricket field. And it is not just the senior players but also the younger players, he brings people together. As we have seen we were not given much of a chance at the start but we are probably rated favourites at the moment. So everything is going quite well.

Roma Khanna: Are you going to miss this whole experience when you go back to England?

Dmitri Mascarenhas: Of course, I am going to miss it. Being here has been a great experience and not really looking forward to going home actually but if we reach the finals I am going to be back for the finals. So let's just keep our fingers crossed that we get there.