Chandrakant Pandit answered various queries, ranging from what is the ideal grip for a batsman to the art of flighting the ball for a spinner
Chandrakant Pandit poses with mid-day Masterclass participants Prashant Solanki (from left), Aaryan Yadav, Pranav Dhanawade, Ajinkya Patil, Kushagra Gupta and Arjun Dani
Oblivious to the severe late morning sun, coach Chandrakant Pandit patiently spent close to two hours passing on pearls of wisdom to six aspiring cricketers during the mid-day Masterclass at the MIG Cricket Club in Bandra.
Chandrakant Pandit
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He answered various queries, ranging from what is the ideal grip for a batsman to the art of flighting the ball for a spinner. He also shared some tips on wicketkeeping - his basic task in his playing days. All this though came with a final warning: "Buri aadatein phir se nahi aani chahiye [bad habits should not creep into your game again]." The boys happily nodded in agreement.
Leg-side struggle
Aaryan Yadav
(Bihar U-19 batsman): I face difficulty in playing the ball on the leg-side.
While batting, you tend to lose your balance and that's when you struggle to play on the leg-side. It is important that you maintain your body balance. There are two ways of working on this. First, when you face the bowler, try and get your [left] shoulder to dip a bit. Also, if the bowler is coming from around the wicket, you can open your front foot slightly. But remember, when you have options, you tend to make more mistakes, so choose wisely.
'Landing' in trouble
Kushagra Gupta
(right-arm pacer): My knee tends to bend while landing in my delivery stride.
That's called front-foot collapsing. This happens because your hand comes away from the body. So, instead of moving towards the target, you move on the left side. I'll give you a tip which is not written in any coaching manual. Let your forehead be in line with the batsman's helmet or maybe over the helmet. That will help you to keep your head steady. And in that process, you are fully facing the target with optimum power and force behind the body.
Flight it right
Prashant Solanki
(Mumbai U-16 leg-spinner): How do I increase the revolutions on the ball to make it dip just before the batsman is about to play?
The advantage for a leg-spinner is that he can use his fingers as well as his wrist. Revolutions come from the fingers. Work on your spin and fingers. More revolutions will dip the ball. The batsman will expect the ball to pitch in front of him but it will pitch a foot away. That will help you create catching chances at silly point or short leg. [Former India leg-spinners] Narendra Hirwani and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan used to practice by bowling at one stump. You should do that too.
Grip tip
Arjun Dani
(Mumbai U-16 batsman): What should be the ideal grip for a batsman?
My coach, the late Ramakant Achrekar, would never suggest a grip. He used to tell us that we should have a natural grip. But if somebody wants a proper grip, a 'V upon V' grip will help. Today, most cricketers don't believe in this as they play with a lot of power. When you use a bottom hand grip, it is only for power-hitting but with the 'V upon V' you can play on both sides of the pitch.
Push and pull
Pranav Dhanawade
(world's only batsman to score 1000-plus runs in an innings): How does one push on to build a longer innings. Also, how does one play the pull shot against fast bowlers?
Once a player has reached 70 or 80, it's possible that he will be satisfied with what he has done. But no player should think like that. It's all about your mental approach. For example, if somebody is scoring 90 or 95, and then finds it very difficult, I don't tell him how to play. I tell him, 'you have scored 95 runs without taking any pressure, it's the same bowlers and fielders. But now you know that you need five runs to reach your 100, so your thought process has changed and you automatically come under pressure.' A player should not change his thought process because he/she is five runs away from a century. A batsman, who gets 95 runs, should not be worried. You should work on your process and not the result.
Regarding the pull shot, when you go back and across, try to get the ball in front of your body, slightly above your waist but below your shoulders. You should be positioned in such a way that if you miss the shot, the ball should hit your body. While going back and across, hit the ball in front of your body with extended arms and elbows, and the ball should be played between mid wicket and square leg.
'Keeping it rough
Ajinkya Patil
(Mumbai U-23 wicketkeeper): Spinners tend to bowl a lot in the rough. How do I predict the bounce and turn?
A wicketkeeper must always get up with the bounce of the ball. A ball that is pitched too up [closer to the batsman] goes upwards. However, if the ball is pitched in the rough, one cannot predict the bounce and/or spin. Basically, you need to practice by creating a similar rough area. Try to stay in your position, as low as possible, where the glove position is close to the ground.
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