CHENNAI: Glenn McGrath, Shane Bond, Mitchell Johnson, Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee, Heath Streak…. confused why I am naming the greatest fast bowlers cricket has ever produced? All these legends are products of MRF Pace Foundation and City Express caught up with Myluahanan Senthilnathan, chief coach of this foundation (in Udumalpet), who has been associated with the academy for more than 27 years.
Talking about his early days Senthilnathan shared “I have been at the foundation since 1989 and I practised there every day. The Pace Foundation was started in 1987 and I used to bat at the nets when McGrath was training here.”
Talking about his journey he said, “We had the greatest fast bowler of all times (Dennis Lillee) as the director from its inception to 2012 after which Glenn took over. It was a blessing for me to be under him and learn all the technical aspects about how to coach a fast bowler.”
The foundation, which was started to help the Indian fast bowlers, has produced number of legends. How did that happen? “It was the vision of KM Mammen, (MD and chairman of MRF Pace Foundation) to open it up globally. When we did, bowlers from all across the world – Australia, England, New Zealand and other test-playing nations came to us.”
India is a spin hub and the sub-continent conditions help spinners, and this convinces several fast bowlers from all over the world to train here. “I would say Dennis Lillee played a huge role here; technically he was strong. You can’t learn techniques of fast bowling unless you get it from a proper coach and Dennis was a legend. So the whole world was convinced, if at all they need to fine tune their bowling MRF Pace Foundation is the place.”
He also explained the basics of coaching. “If your technique is good, it prevents you from injury and your efficiency is higher. Coaching is simple – it’s not about finding faults, it’s about giving solutions. That’s where we specialise in…we hone their techniques.”
Having spent more than 15 years with Lillee, Senthilnathan cannot stop gushing about him. “I have never seen him take a break…even for a day and his commitment was amazing,” he smiles, and adds, “Of course, Glenn McGrath is no less too! I can’t forget something that Dennis told me. He said ‘That chap (McGrath) is putting his life in our hands and we can’t teach him wrong stuff. If you don’t know what he is asking, you can tell him what you prefer and get back to him. There is nothing wrong in admitting you don’t know rather than teaching him something wrong which would spoil his career’.”
Recalling a few incidents where bowlers have returned to the academy after losing their rhythm, he said, “Zaheer came here when he felt something was not right. The same thing happened with Srinath. This is like ‘coming home’ for them. They come back here to work with us, sort out the things that went wrong and then get back into the team feeling better.”
Being a batsman, Senthilnathan felt felt that he can advice bowlers on how to think from a batsman’s perspective. “I can talk to them with my experience, it is about mind games. A batsman has only one chance…even to dismiss a best batsman in the world, you only need one delivery. If he is out, he has to walk back to the pavilion but as a bowler you are always in the game.”
Some of the players being trained currently are Varun Aaron, Ankit Rajpoot, Nathu Singh, Ankit Choudhary, Veer Pratap Singh, Sandeep Warrier and Ashwin Crist.