04-09-2010 Sanjay Manjrekar on India's batting pro…

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Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar is a cricket commentator and presenter on TV

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The problems with India's retweet
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'I thought I could get away with

young batsmen murder'
Some pull to make a statement, one pushes meekly. One's feet resemble Johhnie Walker's, another needs to Robin Uthappa has learnt his lessons, and is
stop resembling others ready to do anything for what he once took
for granted. By Sriram Veera
As told to Sidharth Monga
September 3, 2010
A boy's own idol
Comments: 84 | Login via | Text size: A | A My Favourite Cricketer: Les Favell was an inspiration to
many - one lad in particular. By Mike Coward
I believe that you can have the worst technique in the
The problems with India's young batsmen
world, but if you have a sharp, disciplined mind you Sanjay Manjrekar talks about how the next generation of
can still survive at the international level. Technique, Indian batsmen could sort out technical flaws
though, does become very important, at times, like in
It could happen in India as well
Dambulla recently, where the ball didn't behave as Harsha Bhogle: Corruption is not Pakistan's sole preserve,
predictably as it does elsewhere nowadays. quick money threatens to lure young cricketers elsewhere too

The short ball is something Indian batsmen are Top fourth innings bowling performances
It Figures: Thirteen great displays
generally, and naturally, not too good against. I used
to envy young Australian batsmen during my playing
days. A bouncer was a scoring opportunity for them.
The moment somebody bowled short, they pounced
on it. It's like when an Indian batsman sees a spinner
bowl short. For Indian batsmen against bouncers,
their first instinct is not positive. Then we sort of tell The pull is not the only way to score off a short delivery
ourselves that we are going to be aggressive. © Cameraworx/Liv e Images
Enlarge
In the nineties India started to look at Australia as the
team to be. The kids in that era grew up idolising
Australian batsmen. Perhaps that's why a lot of them Related Links
are playing the pull shot today, to make a statement, Players/Officials: Dinesh Karthik | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma
even if it doesn't come naturally to them. For the Teams: India
Australians the pull shot is like the drive or the flick is
for the Indians.

There is a notion that in limited-overs cricket if you don't pull, you give the bowlers free dot-balls. And you
can't keep ducking either. That's what the young Indian batsmen often say. Suresh Raina showed he played
the short ball better in Tests, when he wasn't under pressure to score fast. In limited-overs cricket, though,
they start pulling , but unconvincingly, thereby making it a high-risk shot.

Sachin Tendulkar doesn't play the pull anymore. Nor does Virender Sehwag. VVS Laxman doesn't play it as
often as he used to. They are all still effective batsmen at the international level. You don't always need to
always play the pull shot to prove something to someone. Why play a high-risk shot at a time when you don't
want to lose wickets?

You don't need to hit a boundary every time the ball is bowled short. I remember when they bowled short to Sponsored Links
Sunil Gavaskar in limited-overs matches in Australia, he would glide it to third man for a single. And then the Check out the new Dhoni zone brought to you
bowler had a different batsman to adjust to. How does Tendulkar take care of short balls in Twenty20? He by Aircel
Team India Captain says "Hello"
does not play aggressive shots; he just takes singles to fine leg or taps it over where slips would be. More
importantly, he shows he is comfortable against the short ball. That is the key. Follow the top players & teams in T20, Test and
ODIs
If someone is bowling short in limited-overs cricket, he is not going to do so right through the innings. It's just Maruti Suzuki Cricket Ratings

a matter of maybe two overs. And it is impossible to keep bowling short in Twenty20. How many pitches will Witness the Pioneering spirit of Indian cricket
allow you to do that? At any rate, India's main problem is not that they are stuck for long periods without team
A product of Lufthansa
scoring runs. Their problem is that they are losing wickets. It's not like they are three down for 180 in 50
overs. Ovi Music Unlimited
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Fast bowlers keep bowling short at a batsman only when they see he is uncomfortable against it. What with Ovi Music Unlimited Today!

happens with a Raina or a Ravindra Jadeja is that they show they are uncomfortable. If Raina, even in Hello bhaiya? If I run fast enough CAN I FLY?
Twenty20, ducks under one, and guides the next one for a single to fine leg, and shows he is comfortable, he CHILDLINE 1098
won't get much more of it. It will only happen if it's clear to them that he is getting into strange positions
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04-09-2010
won't get much more of it. It will only happen if it's clear Sanjay Manjrekar
to them that oninto
he is getting India's batting
strange positionspro…
while trying to pull. Being secure against the short ball is important. Even if you're not scoring off it, if you look
reasonably comfortable against it without playing an attacking shot, you will be fine.

Therein lies the need for these young batsmen to discover their own game, what they are suited to do best.
And the onus, a lot of it, is on Gary Kirsten to help them do that.

Dinesh Karthik
You have to feel for him, for he has never got an
extended run in a certain position. Having said that,
he is opening in limited-overs cricket. The white new
ball does a bit more than the red one, and once the
lights come on, sometimes it swings even more. To
face the new ball well, he needs to get back to his
basic game, with which he seems to have lost touch.
Karthik's game has changed in the last two or three
years, during which he has mostly played limited-
overs cricket and tried to meet the demands of those
forms. I see him doing things that seem to be outside
his game. For example, standing outside the crease.
When you are out of form, playing a fast bowler on a Dinesh Karthik's stance to Kyle Mills after a ball swung away.
Mills duly took the edge with the next delivery © Ten Sports
responsive pitch, why would you want to give yourself
Enlarge
less time?

When you walk down the pitch to bowlers like Kyle Mills and Lasith Malinga, it just defies logic. I think Karthik
is a little confused. Too many pre-meditated movements have crept in - both when he walks down the pitch
and when he sometimes stays in the crease for no apparent reason. He doesn't seem to be doing the one
basic thing: watching the ball, and then reacting to it accordingly.

When you play swing bowlers off the back foot, giving yourself more time, you get width. You get a chance to
play the square cut. Imagine that Nuwan Kulasekara has bowled an inswinger. You stand outside your crease
and thrust your front foot forward and counter the swing. Compare it to another batsman who stays in the
crease and sees the inswinger coming. If it is not very full and finishes around middle and leg, it can be
deflected to fine leg or square leg. You need not limit your options by walking down the pitch. When the ball is
spinning or seaming, it makes a lot of sense to play it late.

Sehwag rarely walks down; Tendulkar never does. There are two batsmen who come to mind who have
successfully adopted this tactic without limiting their scoring options. For Matthew Hayden it was an extension
of what he did; he could always go back to his basic game. Gautam Gambhir also walks down the pitch
sometimes, but he seems calm in his mind when he does it, ready to react to whatever happens; he is
watching the ball closely all the time.

Karthik seems to go down with a specific plan in mind, and if the ball is not where he expects it to be, he
struggles. You get the feeling he is not settled in his mind. My advice to him would be to just settle down, get
into a normal stance, give himself time to play, and just react to the ball. Then, when he wants to play
differently, if he walks down the pitch, he'll be fine. He has got a decent enough basic game to succeed in
international cricket.

Virat Kohli
Kohli is a talented player, one who goes out there
wanting to make a difference. His technique, though,
worries me, especially in conditions like in Dambulla.
He will get such conditions in South Africa, Australia,
and sometimes in England.
Whatever the length of the ball, the position of his
feet is the same. He gets into a sort of criss-cross
position, where the front foot is across from the back
foot - and not well down the pitch, as it should be.
When the ball is short, you have to go slightly back, or
at least your weight has to go back; when it is pitched
up, you have to go forward. He does not have this
Virat Scissorfeet: The front foot moves across no matter the
basic game.
length of the delivery © Getty Images
Kohli could be advised to have a look at Rahul Dravid, Enlarge
because they have some similarities. Dravid too looks
to get on the front foot, but when the ball is pitched up, he makes an extra effort to get down to the pitch of
it. When it is short, he stays back, without actually taking a backward step: he is waiting for it, his weight is
back, even though his front foot seems to be down the pitch. When Dravid plays a square cut, you will never
see both his feet together behind the popping crease. His front foot will be out of the crease, but his weight
will be back. That is how he gives himself time to meet the ball late.

Kohli is making life difficult for himself on responsive pitches by just having one kind of foot movement for all
lengths. It can be worked on if he plays a hundred balls of different lengths in a day in practice. And if he is
reminded again and again to get back when the ball is short and well forward when it is full.

Rohit Sharma
We have to consider Rohit a bit like we would VVS
Laxman. They are both elegant batsmen, but Rohit is
a bit tighter than Laxman was when he first

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04-09-2010 Sanjay Manjrekar on India's batting pro…
appeared. Laxman, though, showed that he had great
mental discipline, which Rohit needs to acquire.
Technically there aren't too many things he needs to
work on, like Kohli and Karthik do. He needs to know
he is a little loose at the start of the innings, and that,
like Yuvraj Singh, he is tentative outside off and has a
tendency of going through the line of balls outside off.
He has to learn to leave them alone, because he is
not a square-cutter. If you are going to push at
deliveries outside off, you are doing yourself no good.
He does not get into a position to cut them nor does
he look to leave them.

Of late Rohit has been getting out lbw to full balls.

And that is mostly to do with confidence. When your
confidence is low, you tend to try and get into position
even before the ball is delivered. It is a nervous act,
although Rohit manages to look casual when he is
doing it. The front foot goes across as a natural
defence; you are basically trying to cover yourself up.
You don't want the ball to go through and hit the
stumps. You put the front foot down as a survival
Between the leave and the square-cut lies Rohit Sharma's
instinct, but it happens a bit too early. In Rohit's case,
fatal push © AFP
the foot is going too far across too.
Enlarge

That will only change when he becomes mentally more relaxed. It is a technical thing, but it has a lot to do
with your insecurity as a batsman. In the nets he needs to tell himself, "Wait. Make your foot movements only
after the ball is delivered." When you are out of form, you think too many things, and before the ball is
delivered you have made certain movements, getting yourself into positions that are not ideal. When you are
in form, like Sehwag, you stand still in the crease and your feet and body start operating only after the ball is
delivered. When you think too much, you don't do that basic thing well enough, watching the ball. Rohit has to
keep telling himself to "watch the ball" to remove all other thoughts from the mind and focus on what really
matters.

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar is a cricket commentator and presenter on TV. His Twitter feed is here
Feeds: Sanjay Manjrekar

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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Posted by addiemanav on (September 04 2010, 10:09 AM GMT)

i wud suggest them to do shadow batting for few hours a day..watch old videos of tendulkars and other greats..wear ur batsman
suit and just try and imitate the batsman in the video simultaneously..thinking about your game is most important..they need to do
it methodologically..these guys really need to travel with indian A sides to SA and AUS,play some more first class stuff and then
play for india.otherwise 2 years from now ,india will struggle really badly!!

Posted by Dushaynth Kumar on (September 04 2010, 09:24 AM GMT)

what sanjay said was true but he didint mention abt jadeja in his article.its so sad that our indian players could not correct their
technique even though they were worked by other teams in 2 t20 wc"s .dinesh karthik is good player of international standard but
he needs to cut down on rash shots .abt sachin not playing pull there is no need of it when plays the upper cut over the slips so
well.rohit sharma should take stint in county so that he can get some good scores under his belt as he seems to be tad slow against
fast bowlers .Its just that he is lackin confidence when out of form.virat kohli canplay only on front foot with his feet movement
and can be ideal for lbw .suresh raina just needs some patience to cut out that shot.

Posted by OnlyKaps on (September 04 2010, 07:50 AM GMT)

Sanjay, thats brilliantly analysed. Cannot fault the asset of good technique. having said that , one question though. A number of
Australian batsmen dont have the perfect technique of a Gavaskar, Tendulkar or a Dravid - say Hayden, Langer, Martyn,
Symonds, Taylor, but have had outstanding records and long careers in various forms of the game. Amongst Indians too,
Mohinder, had a most awkward stance and technique but his ample guts made up for it and he had great success against WI and
other top teams. Shastri, Vengsarkar, Vishy, Siddhu all had weaknesses in their techniques but were able to improvise and end with
a 40+ average. Maybe these youngsters too just need to develop that confidence and ability to improvise strokes from difficult
footwork positions atthis stage of their careers.. perhaps rectifying their technique totally may be difficulty and even not wise to
suggest at this stage. (some minor changes are manageable but wholesale changes tough)

Posted by Majr on (September 04 2010, 05:07 AM GMT)

Sanjay has engaged in a good analysis and it is very detailed indeed. I remember Mike Brearley had written a book on "How to play
fast bowling" He was never himself considered a great player of fast bowling though despite being a winning captain. Sanjay on
the other hand was an excellent player of fast bowling like his father but he was probably so steeped in technique that he could
not make adjustments that are so necessary to succeed in Australia and South Africa. Rahul Dravid no less in technical perfection
failed on his first tour to Australia. But before he went there again made the necessary adjustments to his technique and as we all
know, was India's hero in 2003/04.The point I wish to make is that all the named player are set in their own grooves. Any change
can happen as in the case of Rahul Dravid only if the players themselves carry out some changes that are necessary as they see
it. Rather than reading they should see videos of the better players and replicate them.

Posted by Majr on (September 04 2010, 04:51 AM GMT)

I was at the Kotla when Sanjay Manjrekar made his debut against West Indies,in 1987 which was a painful one for him courtesy

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04-09-2010 Sanjay Manjrekar on India's batting pro…
Winston Benjamin. He was hit on the eye and took no further part in the match. He belongs as we all know to the Bombay school of
cricket which meant adherence to technique and being proud of it. Having seen Sanjay's father Vijay play in the then Bombay of
the 50s, I could see that Sanjay had indeed inherited the rich legacy of technical precision from his father. But where his Vijay
Manjrekar was a superb player of the hook and the pull against the best fast bowlers, I have seldom seen Sanjay really play these
shots. He was a fine player of fast bowling make no mistake but he tended to avoid these strokes.In fact Sanjay was probably the
best player against the reverse swing that the two Ws used to generate.His career never really took off as expected because he
could not make adjustments in his technique to play on the bouncy wickets of Australia, South Africa.

Posted by crazyuddie on (September 04 2010, 02:51 AM GMT)

@Mark00 I suppose Tendulkar's 6 centuries in Australia in test matches were also with bouncer restrictions.

Posted by Barathi Chellappan Subramaniam on (September 03 2010, 23:46 PM GMT)

You're wrong mr alex. Inability o play the short ball is not the lack of strength. Its lack of reflex. That in turn is due to lack of better
practice. That is due to lack of bouncier and better pitches in India but much more than that, lack of better bowlers.

Posted by kmgnath on (September 03 2010, 23:45 PM GMT)

Hello Sanjay- I have to ask one more thing regarding the selection in India, ... Is it good to send the under performing players to
Domestic or NSA or MRF to either regain confidance or to rectify their techniqe, rather then shutting the doors on them after few
chances. BCCI should act more professionaly, rathen than droping a player from the team, they should have a seperate STAGE
called RECTIFY where each and every player who is under performing is send to rectify accordingly (FITNESS, TECHNIQUE,
ATTITUDE,...) and bring them back quickly. This helps to bring the performing player in the Domestics into national team and send
them back if they are not with ease.

Posted by Sebastian Charles Ranjith on (September 03 2010, 23:10 PM GMT)

SM rohit is not a elegant batsman...why u comparing him with laxman...rohit sucks and shud be banned from playing any sport for
lifetime!!!

Posted by BillyCC on (September 03 2010, 22:51 PM GMT)

Mark00, disagree with you on your point that Sachin and Sehwag are not complete batsman. I think Sachin is one of the most
complete batsman in the world today. He looks comfortable against all deliveries even the short deliveries. By comfortable, I mean
he doesn't consistently get out to certain types of deliveries and their scoring zones are well defined. Comfortable does not mean
"beautiful to watch" or being able to score runs off every type of delivery. Sehwag is also complete, less so than Tendulkar but still
a very complete batsman. He looks less comfortable than Tendulkar but that is his right as an opening batsman against the new ball
when the bowlers are fresh, the ball is bouncing and moving and the pressure is at its highest. However, I do agree with your point
that many other Indian batsman are not complete and struggle on pitches with true bounce. That is why Sanjay is suggesting that
more work needs to be done for these batsman.

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