Karnataka, Mumbai bowlers to train under Jeff Thomson in Australia

06/09/2016

Four young pacers, two each from Karnataka and Maharashtra, will train under the legendary Jeff Thomson for a period of three weeks at Brisbane, Australia. The venture by IDBI Federal-KSCA Bowling Foundation should work wonders for the quartet, but Thomson downplayed it saying he is no magician.

Karnataka youngsters David Mathias and Prasidh Krishna, who made their Ranji debuts last year, and Mumbai's Tushar Deshpande and Minad Manjrekar will be the lucky four who will make the trip to Brisbane through the IDBI-KSCA foundation, reported Cricbuzz. The foundation, which began operations in February last year, has Thomson as its head coach and trains both pacers and spinners.

"I'm no David Copperfield or a magician. I show them what to do and then it's their hard work. I have seen noticeable difference in them since the last time I was here. They have all improved and everything that needs to be there is there. What we do with the kids is to make them ready for any challenge. Cricket is a hard game these days and I think they have to be tougher than in my days, we were pretty tough ourselves. We didn't get much back then but if these guys can make it then they are well rewarded and that's a good incentive,” Thomson told Cricbuzz.

Prasidh was elated at the opportunity saying,"It's a great opportunity. It's a preparation to get into the next level of cricket or whatever you want to play in future. I see it as a good period to learn."

Talking about Thomson's influence, the 20-year-old said, “Jeff asked us to believe in ourselves no matter what. Technically my left arm was coming in between my face and blocking my view, he's helped me rectify that. The swing has improved with better action and pace has improved as well,” reported Cricbuzz.

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