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Prasanna visits spin academy

Former Indian off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna has a few tips for the young trainees at the MAC Spin Foundation at the SPIC-YMCA ground in Chennai on Friday.

Chennai July 5 . The quaint SPIC-YMCA ground had a rather special visitor on Friday. Erapalli Prasanna sent down a perfectly pitched delivery, adorned with flight and turn, even as a group of aspirants watched with a mixture of awe and admiration.

The great former Indian off-spinner was sharing an afternoon with the young bowlers of the MAC Spin Foundation. For the boys, it was a precious experience indeed.

Prasanna finished a brief demonstration of his awesome skills, and then turned to his wards. ``You see, for a spinner, length is mandatory. Line is optional. For the fast bowlers, it is the line that is mandatory.''

He then waited for moment, asked the youngsters for an answer, and then carried on — ``A paceman, even if he pitches short, may get away because it may not be easy to pull him because of his speed. It is different for a spinner. He will surely get punished.''

Prasanna was here in Chennai to kick off a 10-day camp for the MAC-Spin Foundation trainees. And he enjoyed every moment of his experience with the boys.

He saw them in action for a while, but held back his judgment. ``It is obvious that they have the skill. But I would love to watch how many balls they land on a length before coming to any sort of conclusion. They should pitch at least 95 per cent of the deliveries `there.'''

Later, Prasanna dwelt on the role of the academies that helped groom budding cricketers. ``They play an important part. I remember when we (the spin quartet) left, at around the same period, there was a vacuum. There were not too many around to take over from us. So, building a second line becomes crucial. The Foundation will serve a useful purpose.''

Robin Singh, Director, MAC Spin Foundation, said, ``He will be with us for the next two years. He has been such a great bowler. You can judge it from what he talks to the boys. And, even now, what he says, he is able to demonstrate it himself. I am sure for the boys aspiring to play for the country, he serve as a great inspiration.'' Apart from Robin, Peter Fernandez, coach at the foundation, B. Arun, former India cricketer, and N.P. Balaji, former State cricketer, were present on the occasion.

During the course of the next ten days, former India spinners, leggie Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and left-armer Raghuram Bhat are scheduled to visit the camp.

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