The year 2014 was a tumultuous one for Sean Abbott for reasons known to the world and the cricketing fraternity alike. It takes great gumption to overcome the emotional drain and get back on the cricket field with normalcy. Australia speedster Sean Abbott has done just that. It is a brand new start to the new year and the start of a new chapter in his life; a chapter that he wants to enjoy and cherish each moment of - The IPL. Rewind the clock to the time of the Pepsi IPL 2015 Player Auction and Abbott takes you through that moment with a glint of smile on his face. “When the auction was on, I was actually playing cricket. I couldn’t watch it,” he says speaking to iplt20.com. “I guess a few of my mates were following it elsewhere and some of them were playing along with me. The guys just came up to me and gave a pat on my back and said I had got picked in the auction. It was pretty exciting to hear the news at first. I couldn’t wait to get over here to India.” It is still very early days in the IPL for the 23-year old from New South Wales who is slowly but steadily making himself comfortable in RCB colours. “It has been really good till now. We have been here just over the week and it has been enjoyable so far. The guys here at the RCB have been very welcoming and they have been looking after us really well. I have Nic Maddinson and Trent Woodhill, our batting coach, who are my good mates, for company. I have made a few friends in the team as well. It has been an enjoyable week and I can’t wait to get my first game.” For Abbott, the IPL had always created quite a flutter in Australia and he says he would often listen to tales of the IPL from his friends and teammates who are and have been a part of the experience. Abbott believes he is ready to enjoy the experience like most of his mates have and is aware of the challenges that lie ahead. “I used to hear a lot about the IPL back home from friends like Moises Henriques, who have played in the IPL before,” Abbott elaborates. “They would always come up to me and tell me what an enjoyable experience the IPL is. I was looking forward to the challenge and being a part of the RCB. I am glad to be here now. “Obviously it will be testing to come out here and play in Indian conditions. As a cricketer you need to do well under such conditions with the bulk of cricket being played in India. Being a cricketer, you have to adapt yourself and your game to any condition and I have been lucky enough to come to India over the last few years to the MRF camp (Pace Foundation) in Chennai with the Australian academy. We were here last year in Bengaluru as well. So I have a little bit of experience and an idea of what to expect from pitches here. It is more about doing the things that I have been doing well and continuing to do that. I have been playing some very good cricket in recent times and I am looking forward to continue that form in the IPL. Hopefully it will hold me in good stead.” Having bowling coach Allan Donald on the sidelines has also been helpful reckons Abbott, especially in his first week of the IPL. But the prospect of bowling alongside his Aussie teammate Mitchell Starc later in the tournament is what excites Abbott. Starc is set to miss the start of the IPL owing to a knee niggle, but Abbott has already had a few chats with him about the IPL. “Mitch (Starc) is a very good friend of mine and I have had a few conversations with him here and there regarding the IPL. Obviously he has been playing a lot of cricket lately. So it has been tough to ask him specifically about the conditions and how to bowl and how he goes about things here. But, he has always told me that the IPL is a lot of fun and that I would enjoy it if and when I would get there. He congratulated me when I got picked up for the RCB. He, being a part of RCB himself, couldn’t wait for me to be a part of his team.” It is a star-studded team and Abbott has the multidimensional AB de Villiers, the devastating Chris Gayle and the aura of RCB captain Virat Kohli for company. The message from Kohli to his troops was crisp and clear - to enjoy the game. “We had a little bit of a team chat the other day before training. Kohli mainly spoke about everyone being on the same page and enjoying cricket. Enjoying the game playing for RCB and playing cricket together was the main point he got across. I can’t wait to play under his leadership. “I am very hungry to perform here and make a statement in the IPL. I have always wanted to do well and play the best I can and I want to contribute as much as I can for RCB. We hope (we) can play (as far as the) semi-finals and who knows, play in the final at the end of the tournament.”