A few months ago Trent Boult was considered a Test specialist. Then, with only 16 ODIs under his belt, he was picked in New Zealand’s squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup. At the end of the tournament, Boult had bowled New Zealand to their first ever World Cup final, finishing with a tally of 22 wickets at 16.86 – joint highest with Mitchell Starc. Now the 25-year-old Kiwi pacer is having his first taste of the IPL. The game between CSK and SRH at the Chepauk was Boult’s Pepsi IPL debut. And by his admission, it was an “interesting” one. He bowled his first ball in the IPL to his national captain and CSK opener, Brendon McCullum. It was a wide. Second, was smashed to the cover boundary for four. ‘Welcome to the IPL, son’, said McCullum to the lad who had made him a World Cup final captain a week ago. Boult, however, managed to hold on to his own. His bowling figures, 4-0-34-1, although decent as per T20 standards, do not show the two run-outs he affected. He, however, ended up on the losing side as his team fell short of the target by 45 runs. iplt20.com caught up with the young left-arm pacer after the game as he shared his maiden IPL adventure. On your IPL debut you were up against Brendon McCullum. A baptism by fire? Yes, it was an interesting introduction to this tournament. Brendon batted really well and when he bats like that, it is very hard to be up against him. But I enjoyed it. How does it feel to be picked in the playing XI ahead of Dale Steyn? It just shows the depth we have in our team. We have so many experienced bowlers and someone is going to miss out. It was nice to get a nod and have this opportunity. Hopefully, I will get more. Would you count three wickets for yourself in the match – a wicket and two run-outs? I wouldn’t look too much into those run-outs. They don’t happen very often. But I had a great time in the field and it was a very different experience for me. Did you expect McCullum to ramp you over the keeper’s head? I haven’t actually seen him do that for a while, so no. I wasn’t sure if he still could do it. But the evidence showed that he still can. Will you say that in modern limited overs game left-arm pacers are worth their weight in gold? We do offer something unique bowling over the wicket and across the right-handers. In the one-day game with only four men outside the circle it does bring in something different to the game. But having said that, there are so many talented batsmen around who can adapt to it and manage to hit the ball out of the park. But the World Cup did show the left-arm pacers can be handy. You had an amazing World Cup despite the fact that you hadn’t played too many limited overs games before that. Did you make any adjustments to your Test bowling to cater to the shorter formats? Yes, before the World Cup I was very inexperienced; I only played a dozen games or so. To come into a tournament like that and play every game was something pretty special to me. As far as my game plan goes, I just tried to bring my Test game – pitch the ball up and swing it. On occasions I did that nicely but I am definitely still learning the nuances of bowling with the white ball. This is your first experience of being part of an IPL team. Initially were you a bit nervous as to what to expect with players from different countries in the dressing room? You’re not human if you come into such sort of environment on to this massive stage and not be nervous. I would admit that I was a bit nervous. It is nice to finally have the tournament underway. These are a great bunch of guys. I hope the enjoyment still hangs on for the next few weeks. You will be spending a lot of time with Dale Steyn. If there is one thing you could borrow from his bowling, what would it be? I’d love to bowl as fast as him but I don’t know if I can. He has massive experience. He is so brilliant in the beginning of the innings and he is a stunning death bowler as well. It will be nice to spend these five-six weeks with him and pick his brain. And honestly, it will be not just about T20 cricket but also a bit of talk around the red ball as well. It is a massive opportunity.