CHENNAI: Former India bowling coach, Bharathi Arun who is also the chief coach of the Thiruvallur Veerans in the TNPL during a chat with Express spoke about the dynamics of the shorter version of the game.
He felt that with smaller grounds, heavy bats and flat decks, bowlers world over were treated with scant respect. But watching Kuldeep Yadav in the West Indies, he felt that a quality wrist spinner could be the answer that teams were looking for to contain batsmen in T20s.
Kuldeep, an unconventional and chinaman bowler, has excelled in all the formats so far.
“I would not call Kuldeep Yadav an unconventional bowler. He is a wrist spinner, bowls to his strength and has a unique talent.
“He is hard working and a perfect foil to the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja,” complimented Arun. “A wrist spinner is an added advantage as it is difficult for batsmen to pick the length due to the revolutions and variations.
In Thiruvallur Veerans, we have some talented bowlers, who will come handy as the tournament progresses.
Former Tamil Nadu coach M Sanjay had kept wickets to the likes of L Sivaramakrishnan, arguably one of India’s best wrist spinners. Sanjay picks Murugan Ashwin as the best wrist spinner from Tamil Nadu and believes that he has a bright future.
“LS was absolutely brilliant and used to turn the ball square from a very young age. At the moment, Ashwin is the best. Last year, he worked with me at Dindigul Dragons and showed good flair,’’ said Sanjay. B Arun too agreed to the same.
Ashwin who was picked by Rising Pune Supergiant for rS 4.5 crores in 2015 agrees that being a wrist spinner is an advantage on flat surfaces.
“A wrist spinner certainly has more chances to extract better purchase than a finger spinner on flat surfaces, because of the revolutions and variations,’’ said M Ashwin.
The TNCA league is in full flow and many cricketers are using it as an opportunity to prepare for the TNPL.
“The IPL was good preparation. Now I am preparing for the three-day games of the TNCA. We have a week before the TNPL starts. We have a good bunch at Dindigul Dragons and are keen to perform better,’’ said Ashwin.
“As a spinner I feel I have matured over the last couple of years. I have learnt to play and adapt to different conditions and surfaces. I am keen to do well in the TNPL this season,’’ added the leggie.
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com