KOCHI: Akhil S, fitness coach and throw-down expert has been called for duty to assist the India A cricket team which is currently competing against South Africa A team in a five one-day match series at the Sports Hub, Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram. The youngster who hails from Karakulam in the outskirts of the capital city, is support staff and fitness coach of the Under-14 and Under-16 state cricket team as well as the trainer for the Karnataka Premier League.
He has also tutored the Kerala junior woman’s team. Throw-down is a cricketing technique involving throwing balls at a fast pace in the nets using a tool called ‘Roboarm’ which can swing and in some cases even reverse swing the ball to batsmen.“I can bowl outswing, inswing and reverse swing in the nets using the Roboarm. I generally bowl 300 balls in an hour and during the practice session of India A team, I bowled continuously for two and half hours”, said Akhil.
Akhil’s exploits with the Roboarm are famous at the SAI coaching centre at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College grounds where the National women team’s fielding coach Biju George is preparing his wards for upcoming cricketing encounters. Akhil has bowled throw-downs for national player and current India A team member Sanju V Samson, IPL players Sachin Baby, Raifi Vincent Gomez, P Prasanth, K M Asif and several junior players.
“He is a highly talented youngster. The coaches and players of India A team were impressed by his performance during the session. He has a long way to go and we expect him to scale greater cricketing heights,” said Biju.He was recently associated with Mysore Warriors team in the Karnataka Premier League at Bangalore.
“The experience in the league was great. The team got to interact with several international players. It was a memorable experience for me” Akhil said.It may be noted that the Indian national cricket team is using the services of Raghavendraa aka Raghu who is a throw-down expert and travels with the team during its tours. He is a favourite of the Indian batsmen including captain Virat Kohli who has on many occasions praised Raghu for his skill.