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Tapping talent
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The TE-IPL Academy celebrated its first anniversary recently. Meet T. E. Srinivasan, its founder
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Pacesetter T. E . Srinivasan at the TE-IPL Cricket Academy
He would ask pacemen to let it rip at him from 18 yards on a concrete pitch at the back of his residence. This was T. E. Srinivasan's method of preparing to face quality fast bowling.
Unlucky not to represent India in more than a lone Auckland Test at the end of the 1980s, Srinivasan, however, thought in the right direction. The challenge for him lay not in piling up runs on placid surfaces, but in taking on the quicker bowlers on pitches with pace and bounce.
It was thus not surprising that when he started the TE-IPL Cricket Academy, with support from India Pistons, Srinivasan insisted on having a granite wicket, which is quicker than a concrete one. "Here, you don't even have the time to play the square cut or the pull. The ball comes on to the bat very quickly. A batsman learns to bat straight and drive in the `V'," says the 54-year-old former India batsman.
Academy's first anniversary
The TE-IPL Academy at the IP-CPT ground celebrated its first anniversary on February 5 and Srinivasan is happy with the progress this centre for learning cricket has made. Three more turf pitches have been added this year to the six existing ones and he can test his wards of various age groups on different types of surfaces at the `A' and `B' grounds.
Srinivasan wants the youngsters to overcome adversity in match situations. The City Cup Tournament for the under-17 age group, conducted by the academy last year, was played on green-tops with a new ball from either end. "The competition threw up some good young cricketers," he says.
Apart from the batsmen who were forced to tackle deliveries with seam movement and bounce, the bowlers imbibed the need to operate in the right channel around the off-stump, and the slip cordon got used to the idea of pouching the sphere when the ball travelled quickly.
Lending Srinivasan a helping hand are two qualified coaches, former South Zone opener C. S. Suresh Kumar and former Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman T. R. Arasu.
Future plans
The academy has plans to install lights and buy a bowling machine. "The bowling machine will be useful since we can change the pace and the trajectory of the deliveries. If we have lights then we can coach the boys even after school hours or after their tuition," says Srinivasan.
He believes the menace of chucking should be stopped at an early stage. "I ask them to bowl from a stationary position because I can see the legality of their action better by this method. If someone has a doubtful release, then we get him to bowl from a side-on position from where it is difficult to deliver with an illegal action."
In the area of fielding, apart from learning to `throw correctly,' the cricketers are being taught proper diving and sliding techniques. "We also stress on the running between the wickets," he says.
Srinivasan is thankful to N. Venkataramani, managing director, India Pistons, for his support and guidance. He says the academy will not only bring to light local talent, but also help in filtering outstation players. Like always, T. E. Srinivasan remains optimistic.
S. DINAKAR
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