Australia's teenage prodigy Jason Sangha is back for Sydney Thunder, after running drinks for two seasons turned into his second BBL chance this month.
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Since the 22-year-old's return to the starting XI, he has recorded 39 runs against the Brisbane Heat in his first match back, and topped his side's run sheet with 47 in their Boxing Day derby loss to Sydney Sixers.
Thunder fans will be hoping Sangha continues his BBL form at the crease against undefeated table leaders the Perth Scorchers at Manuka Oval on Tuesday night.
"The plus side of all this is we're playing at Manuka, at a ground that I think we've been pretty successful at," he said.
"You always want to compare yourself against the best guys in the competition. Man-for-man I really think we can go well against the Scorchers."
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Sangha was identified as a teenage prodigy back in 2017 after he became the second-youngest player - only beaten by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar - to ever score a first-class century against England.
It put a lot of pressure on the batter, which he added to with his own pressure on himself. He went from playing every game for the Thunder in the 2018-19 season to being sidelined for the last two seasons.
Sangha breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to the BBL pitch against the Heat and thanked his support network, alongside his Thunder teammates and coaches, who helped get him through the constant grind of training without playing.
"There's definitely been a long time between innings," he joked.
"I was probably picked based on potential a couple years back when I was 18, 19. Those things definitely keep you grounded. Especially when you had such a big rise when you're so young and then to get stripped of opportunity for the next couple of years does bring you back down to reality.
"You've got to keep grinding away and keep getting better and better. All I could do was make sure I was trying to improve my skill set and get better, that was my main focus for the last couple of years."
The Scorchers remain undefeated after six matches, compared to the Thunder who have won two of their five games.
Tuesday's game, however, marks the first time the two sides have met this season as Sydney looks to end the Western Australian side's reign.
One thing fuelling Sangha in Canberra will be rediscovering the reason he got into the sport: his love of it.
"You can go into periods where you think you need to try and reinvent the wheel or change everything. I'll try to keep working on my strengths and obviously rectify a few areas of my game that I thought I need to improve. By all means I'm nowhere near there yet," he said.
"I've only played two games, so it's still a long season to go and I just need to make sure I stay grounded and stay humble.
"For me an area I've been trying to work on is what I think the opposition may do and how I can try to get myself to be a better player."
Tuesday night's match starts at 7.15pm at Manuka Oval.
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