T20 2018: R Ashwin's leadership is helping Mujeeb evolve, says coach Hodge

Brad HodgeLeadership plays an important role in a players development and young Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahmans improved performance has a lot to do with playing under the wings of Ravichandran Ashwin Punjab chief coach Brad Hodge insisted today All of 17 Mujeeb has played in Punjabs all seven games with seven wickets at an economy rate of 651 Ashwin in fact wanted the teenager to defend 17 runs against Delhi Daredevils at Kotla and he responded to his captains call by restricting the opposition to 12 runsMujeeb has shown a great level of composure At such young age he has confidence in his abilities I would also give credit to Ashwins leadership skills He has been very encouraging Good leaders help talented players get to the next level Hodge told PTI during an interaction For Hodge it is important that Mujeeb is nurtured in a proper fashion as he is immensely talented Mujeeb is a very simple human being Therefore it is important that one makes him aware about the various processes without making it complicated Communication is one issue but we have very capable assistant coaches who would pass any specific message that needs to be conveyed to him Hodge saidHodge who was an acclaimed T20 freelancer during his playing days he represented 16 various domestic T20 teams is enjoying his partnership with Punjabs Director of Cricket Virender Sehwag So how have they segregated their roles Hodge replied It is a partnership of cricketing minds and thats the part of the process Together we discuss the strategies It is a perfect mixture of taking collective decisions that would benefit the team I think the secret of Punjabs success this season has been at the auction table itself We went into auction with a plan which was successfully executed Hodge added The veteran of 277 T20 games also feels that a champion performer like Chris Gayle must have felt hurt after not being picked during Punjabs first two games Gayle has since then played four matches scoring 252 runs with a hundred and two halfcenturies to his creditSometimes you need to challenge the greatest in the world Gayle had to sit out in a couple of games and that must have hurt a champion like him Even before the start of the tournament Gayle had shown a great attitude and no one can ever question his class and ability He is an absolute legend of the game the former Australian middleorder batsman said While Gayles graph in the T20 is witnessing upswing it has been a downward spiral for another veteran Yuvraj Singh who managed only 50 runs in six games before being dropped from the playing XI Hodge however had words of encouragement for the lefthander I certainly dont believe that Yuvraj is out of form In the two practice games he had scores of 120 and 80 As a coach the sound of the ball hitting the sweet spot is the most important thing So what I have seen of Yuvraj he has been hitting the ball really well He has the burning ambition to do well and the day it happens he will be devastating he saidCatch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever