Paul pushing in extra hours as Regional 4-Day looms

A fully-fit, hungry for further success Keemo Paul says he’s aiming to be the top utility player for Guyana across all formats, while pushing in some extra training to ensure he makes the final cut ahead of the upcoming Cricket West Indies Regional 4-Day tournament.
The hard-hitting batsman told this newspaper on Tuesday, during an exclusive interview, that following the recent end of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), he immediately got back to training and playing in the local Jaguars 3-Day Franchise League as a means to further maintain form and increase his chances of representing the Guyana Jaguars again.
“I have been training pretty hard since I came back from CPL and I’m feeling very fit so I just want to make full use of the remaining 3-Day franchise games in order to do well and to get selected for the 4-day team,” Paul stated.
After returning from the CPL brimming with confidence despite not blowing the roof off the tournament the way he had wanted, the 19-year-old explained that the exposure and the chance to learn from a bevy of international and regional players was a huge plus, adding that he learnt a great deal from a few of his Guyana Amazon Warriors teammates.
“Playing CPL was a tremendous step for me, but I just want to take it all in and improve my cricket, work harder and become a household name in the Caribbean. I have learnt a lot from my CPL stint, I have boosted my self-confidence and it has encouraged me to train even harder and be a better cricketer.” He continued, “I learnt a lot from the likes of Luke Ronchi and Chadwick Walton in the batting department, in terms of keeping my shape when trying to go big and reading game situations better. I have also altered my batting stance a bit because I was falling over sometimes, so I am definitely working hard on that because I want to be a consistent all-rounder for Guyana in all formats.”
With Guyana bagging the Regional 4-Day title for a record three years in a row, the Essequibian had his moment in the spotlight when he bagged a career-best 6-28 against the Windward Volcanoes in the penultimate match of the 2016/17 competition, effectively bowling his team to their third title with a match to spare.
He highlighted the importance of being part of the national camp, which he said has done wonders for his career. “Being part of the Jaguars set up has been a tremendous boost for my career, getting to train 4 days a week in order to get better while being paid is excellent. I’m contracted now so the work gets a bit tougher but I’ll be looking to improve day by day,” the all-rounder admitted.
Concluding his interview, the former West Indies U-19 Vice-captain said his journey to date has been nothing short a wonderful experience, further reiterating the opportunities to play for the West Indies youth team, Guyana Jaguars and in the CPL as key factors to his ongoing development.
“Winning the World Cup was truly great but that’s gone now, so I just want to keep improving and be the best I can be. I’m not satisfied at just being good, I want to be excellent and I will strive for that. I’m gaining maturity all the time but I’m still learning my trade as I go on the hard work never stops, I’m always motivated to do better,” Paul stressed.