Making them play better

THE FEROZESHAH KOTLA wore an unusual look. It had been rare to find cricketers in the complex after the hot weather tournaments had ended, mainly the one organised by the DDCA.

But this summer was different. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under-19 camp had a lot to do with it, as did the Delhi Ranji and under-19 camps held simultaneously.

The weather may have been dreary, but the players were made to go through the paces by a bunch of former cricketers.

The four `nets' at the middle of the ground held the attention from the local angle, but the two at the end of the ground, run by former Delhi players Gyaneshwar Prasad and Suresh Luthra, were the ones which saw youngsters from all over India sweating it out.

As the camp drew to a close, the players looked used to the unfriendly weather and there was no wane in their enthusiasm either.

A batsman went through `shadow practice' here, and an off-spinner tried the slight change in action suggested by the coaches, there.

And as each batsman came out after a stint, he had a word or two to listen to, from either of the coaches or another former player Pradeep Kashyap, who helped out with some contributions.``We do not expect the cricketers to change anything about their game drastically.

But we hope they make use of whatever they learn here and continue to put those things into use after they get back home,'' said Gyaneshwar as he spoke about the camp.

``We suggest only slight modifications, because it is not advisable to force a change in the basic action, style or technique. But there are some who are keen to carry out changes too,'' added Gyaneshwar.

It was practically half-a-day at work for the youngsters. They were on the field at seven a.m., the exercises going on till nine, a break for breakfast, then followed by a good three to four hours at the `nets'.

Such long sessions ensured good batting practice, but the bowlers had it really hard. ``Yes, we could have done with a couple more bowlers,'' admitted Gyaneshwar.

The advent of one-dayers forced the coaches to lay emphasis on physical conditioning. ``The first couple of hours are devoted to exercises, sprints, etc., in which Sunil Khanna (physical trainer) does his bit, followed by `cricketing exercises' like catching and fielding, and finally the `nets','' informed Gyaneshwar, keeping a watch at the `nets'.

``The game needs more attacking play nowadays, no doubt, but our attempt has been to make the youngsters play better cricketing shots. Like, trying to cut out on cross-batted shots and replacing them with ones in which you take your foot nearer to the ball and try to place the shot better''.

The Board camp also gained from the camps organised by the DDCA, with former players like Chetan Chauhan, Madan Lal and Yashpal Sharma coming across once in a while. Yashpal, in fact, took the odd full-fledged fielding session.

The 20 boys who went through the grind at the three-week camp in June were selected by the Board's junior selection committee headed by former Haryana stalwart Rajinder Goel.

They were not necessarily the best of the country, but part of the promising lot identified for different camps.

Gyaneshwar had praise for quite a few of the lot. Left-handed batsman and useful left-arm spinner Aditya Srikkanth (Krishnamachari Srikkanth's son), leg-spinners Nand Kumar Mohato of Assam and Aman Verma of Uttar Pradesh were naturally gifted ones, according to the coach; batsmen Manish Kumar and Sandeep Vij, both of Bihar, were hard-working; while Delhi batsman Sidharth Verma caught the eye with his keenness to learn.

``I had suggested a slight change in Sidharth's grip. His stance and grip were such that his shots went more to the on side.

But he was quick to learn and has made the changes successfully in this camp itself,'' said a delighted Gyaneshwar.

The former Delhi player also had praise for others like left-arm spinner Shankar Saini of Delhi, wicketkeeper Krishna Chavda of Gujarat and left-arm medium-pacer Uday Karkera of Mumbai.

``This is the time for them to work hard and they have a good future ahead,'' concluded Gyaneshwar.

With the cricket season still some months away, some may have felt that it was not the best time to have a camp. But the idea was to get the boys together at one place and just concentrate on various aspects of the game.

After all, the game is an ever-learning process and the road ahead is a long one for these young players.

C. RAJSHEKHAR RAO

New Delhi

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