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August 10, 1998
MATCH REPORTS
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The cricket interview/Ajit Agarkar"I'm working on my leg-cutter..."Coach Achrekar was quoted recently in an interview, as saying that you should be handled with caution, and not overused. What do you think?
Talking of fitness, how much has Andrews Kokinos contributed to the cause? Andrew has really helped us a lot. I cannot say what difference he has made from earlier, because I have not been in the side when Dr Ali Irani was with the team, but Andrew is very professional, knows his job... He has planned a fitness schedule for each one of us, and that has really helped us. What is the schedule he has drawn up for you? Basically, he has asked me to work on my upper body muscles, asked me to do a couple of light weight exercises, I've been doing that these last couple of weeks. As for the other exercises, *laughing* I don't think I will be able to show them to you here! Back to your bowling, commentators keep pointing out how regularly you get reverse swing, tell us how you do it?
Can you show us the grip of your normal delivery? Sure... And the slower one...?
How much have Prasad and Srinath helped you, with regard to your bowling? I haven't really played a lot with Sri, but Venky has been very helpful, he has been working with me to develop the leg cutter that has got him so many wickets. He has a natural leg cutter, I am working on mine, in the nets. Do you ever experiment in the middle of a match? No I don't, the pressure of the match just does not let you try anything different because every run counts. You know, if the opposition is like, 50 for 5, maybe you can try to experiment but not otherwise. Unrelated question... what do you think of sledging, especially as practised by the Aussies and South Africans? You know, every fast bowler has a tendency to get angry when he is taken for some runs. It is very important to have an aggressive approach, but not to the extent that the Aussies and the South Africans indulge in. We all saw the way Donald abused Rahul Dravid in SA, but no action was taken against him, whereas when Harbhajan Singh did the same he was severely reprimanded. Even Ponting was allowed to get away. Have you ever indulged in sledging? Well, not sledging exactly, but yes, I do get furious when a batsman tries to go after me. You know, if you just bowl, beat the batsman and walk back, it does not put pressure on the batsman. Its only when you get your message across that you can't be taken for granted, that you will hit back, that the pressure mounts on him and forces him into making a mistake, sometimes he gets angry and chances his arm against you. You do that by saying something as he passes by you, say when taking a run... Say something... like what? Anything... you know, anything that would unnerve him. Like for instance, if he has edged a ball, you tell him, as he is running towards you, to middle the ball properly the next time... the idea is to keep the pressure on him, let him know you have him sized up... With the technology now, stump mikes and cams and all, one is under the microscope every moment, and one gesture can get you severe punishment, more so for us Indians, because there seems to be a general bias against us... But let's see, I can promise you, you will see me being a lot more aggressive in Tests... Has any batsman ever needled you? No, thankfully for them I have ever been needled... *laughing* You have played extensively under Sanjay, how do you rate him as player, and captain?
How about Azhar? Azza has been a very helpful captain. He does not put pressure on you by dictating, but rather lets you bowl your natural style, and that helps. How about when you want a particular field setting and the captain disagrees, what do you do then? Well there are times when you want the field set according to your plan, and the captain has other ideas, but when that happens Azza always explains to me why he wants the field set in another manner. He has never tried to impose his authority on any of us. Rahul Dravid is the subject of much debate, how do you rate his batting? Picture perfect, doesn't give you much of a chance. He's a great player of high quality pace bowling. Do you think his exclusion from the one day squad is justifiable? Look, I don't want to get into a controversy -- that is for the selection committee to decide. I think he is a great batsman, and will prove himself in the near future. Bowlers like Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan have openly suggested that a bit of ball doctoring is okay, what do you think? Look, I have never come across anyone who has indulged in ball tampering or, for that matter, seen anyone lift the seam. Nor have I indulged in any such practice. Your best moment with the ball...? Against New Zealand, when I got four wickets (April 17, at Sharjah, 4/35), and also in the Singer final, when I got Jayasuriya and Aravinda among others. And batting? I mean you have a triple hundred to your credit at age 15... Yeah, I was a specialist batsman who could bowl medium pace, at that time, I always dreamt of batting for India, and I am still a batsman. You still concentrate on batting, in the nets? Yes I do, I know that I will be coming in to bat either at 50 for 5 or in the slog overs, maybe the 43rd or 48th over, so I have to concentrate on my batting. I can't be an attacking lower order batsman alone -- I mean, I might get in at 50 for 5 and the team would need me to stay there and play a long innings, so I also have to concentrate on technique. You've played a lot with Sachin, any special moments? Yeah, when I scored that triple hundred, he gave me a pair of gloves which I wore for a long time. I was damn thrilled, because Sachin was already playing for India, and it was a very proud moment for me. There's hardly anything left of those gloves, I used it so much... You have learnt under Frank Tyson, haven't you? Actually, it's a great pity, when Frank Tyson coached us I was a specialist batsman, so he didn't really guide me with regards to my bowling. Ever been to the MRF Pace Academy?
Who has been your biggest influence? Ramakant Achrekar, without a doubt. Toughest batsmen to bowl to? Ricky Ponting and Aravinda D'silva, because they never give you a chance. They even hit your good balls for boundaries, and therein lies their strength. It rattles you and that's when they get on top.
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Well, you know, this is not something I can comment upon, really. But then, we are professionals, we know how to keep fit and we just have to do it, that's all.
Sanjay is a great player, that goes without saying. But he is an even better captain, always thinking of ways to get the batsman out, he can actually plan the dismissal of a batsman. I would rate him as the best captain I have played under so far. Technically, his temperament and style of batting is a treat to watch.
