Follow us

WATCH: Kumble turns left-arm spinner to train Cheteshwar Pujara

no image
no image

To help Cheteshwar Pujara overcome the challenges posed by Australian left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe, Anil Kumble tested the batsman by bowling left-arm spin in the nets. Pujara said that Kumble was trying to bowl the angling delivery into the right-hander and he was trying to adapt to it.

After taking over the charge of the Indian team last year, Kumble has adopted unorthodox techniques to eradicate the flaws in the Indian player's game. While batting coach Sanjay Bangar has been working on batsmen’s technique, Kumble has taken a keen interest in the same from a bowler’s perspective. In a bid to accustom Indian batsmen to play left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who picked up 12 wickets giving away only 70 runs in the Australia’s first Test win in India in 13 years, Kumble went to the extent of bowling left-arm spinners to Pujara in practice.

"As they have a left-arm spinner, Anil bhai was trying to replicate that, coming from the corner of the crease and angling into the right hander and try to spin it from there," Pujara told bcci.tv.

"So I was just trying to get used to that angle as well. Sridhar was coming in from over the stumps, banging in short and just taking the ball away.

"It was really useful especially Sridhar, he was really accurate. Anil tried his best even though he is a right-arm bowler but he tried bowling left-arm spin and still was decent enough for practice."

During the practice session, Pujara managed to show his usual calm against Kumble as well but the latter still got the better of the Saurashtra batsman when he charged down the wicket.

"Yes, he did. He knew where to bowl, the ball pitched on the rough and I stepped out only to get beaten," said the batsman.

"I was just trying to work on it, getting used to the angle especially when the ball moves away. Just wanted to play close to the body and get used to the angle," added Pujara, who played a crucial 92-run innings in the second Test at Bengaluru.

Comments

Leave a comment

0 Comments

read previousBPL | Twitter dazed as Nurul smashes 30 in last over to pull off impossible heist against stunned Barishal
The role of a finisher is one of the most unforgiving jobs in all of cricket, for they are the wins remembered for wins and blamed for losses. Nurul Hasan found himself in a similar situation in Sylhet on Thursday with the odds skewed massively against him, only to end up achieving the unfathomable.
Martin Guptill set to miss the start of IPL 10read next
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has been sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury and will miss the start of the IPL season, New Zealand Cricket confirmed today. It has come as a setback for the Kings XI Punjab, who shelled out a cool Rs 50 Lakh for him in the IPL auction last month.
View non-AMP page