Different time zones but former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria is keeping a close eye on the happenings in the ongoing Indian Premier League. He saw off Rinku Singh for five sixes off consecutive balls against Gujarat Titans earlier this month, was very impressed with GT top-order batsman Sai Sudarshan and indeed continued to show courage during his weak patch with Suryakumar Yadav’s bat.
In an exclusive chat with News18 CricketNext from USA, the former leg-spinner spoke at length about the art of leg-spin, what he would like to see more from spinners, how he would have bowled to batsmen like Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, and many more. Kaneria, who has enjoyed several encounters with Sachin Tendulkar on the field, was delighted to learn of Arjun’s debut for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. Edited excerpts:
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Are you following IPL?
I am following IPL because IPL is one of those leagues which is all about entertainment. If 50 is needed in the last two overs, they will not be scored in any other league. But it is possible in IPL. Such is the stature of the players. All current players play in IPL. If you see recently, New Zealand has been touring Pakistan but their core players, top-notch players, have preferred to play in the IPL. IPL is a league where active international players from every country come and play. The best thing about IPL is that the franchisees select the players on the basis of their performance. If we look at other leagues, they go for names but IPL is all about performance. Just look at the route. Top class player but sitting on the bench giving water to the players. A batsman like Steve Smith, who played in the IPL in the past, is also no more. IPL has set the standard and that is why it is on top of every league.
Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun made his debut for Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Thoughts on the son of a legendary cricketer getting his first big moment under the sun?
Oh definitely. Big moment for Arjun He has been part of Mumbai Indians team but he was not getting chance. Today he got his chance. I will be happy to talk more about him when I see more of him on the field. It is also a great and proud moment for Sachin Tendulkar. He is a great cricketer himself and has worked hard in every field to be at the top. And he (Sachin) knew that whenever he got a chance, he just grabbed it with both hands. A big cricketer like Sachin would know that opportunities will come (for Arjun) but you have to capitalize on them. Once you get hold of it, things will fall into place for you.
Leg-spinners are doing pretty well these days. Last year in the T20 World Cup also players like Shadab Khan and Adil Rashid had performed so well. Is it the inefficiency of the batsmen or the improvement in the bowling?
What is the term for leg spin? It is spinning the ball, but I rarely see bowlers nowadays turning the ball. This is something I do not like. The names you took… It is said that Shadab Khan does more googly than leg spin. Rashid Khan is of a different breed as his action is different, agile in the air. Even if you look at guys like Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal, I don’t see the heart and courage in bowlers to fly the ball.
Whenever a leg-spinner is hit, they smile back at the batsman and return to the bowling mark. Where’s the aggression? Where’s the intensity? If you are a bowler then have the courage to fight the batter. That’s how I played my cricket. I used to get hit, I used to tell myself that I am going to come back with a bang. I don’t see that kind of intensity in bowlers. Even the leg spinners I see these days are hardly bowling leg spin. They are bowling fast, googlies and everything because I know one thing that if you can bowl in Test cricket with the field up, then T20 cricket is your cup of tea. For me, it is like this. I take it as such.
Even today, if you put me in these scenarios with these batsmen, I will still trouble them because I know where to pitch the ball and in which areas to bowl. I have hardly seen batsmen hitting good cricket shots at extra cover or straight drive. Most of the hits are towards mid-on or mid-wicket region. So the leg spinners I see, they are not bowling the way they should and they use variations like googly, flipper and slider.
If you can play Test cricket and bowl along with fielding, then I repeat T20 is your cup of tea. for me it is. It’s just a piece of cake for me. Bowling is very easy because when you come to bowl the ground is back and you can easily loop the ball and do whatever you want. Leg-spinners are scared of pitching the ball. They are trying many things like straight bowling. I think it is very poor. A leg spinner should have a big heart. Will get beaten up but needs a big heart. I don’t see cricketers like that nowadays.
How do you bowl to someone like Virat Kohli or say, Babar Azam?
I will have two slips and a gully to get Virat Kohli out, two fielders for the bat-pad and keep everyone up. I will attack him because I have six balls. I can play him, get him on the front foot and get him out. If a batsman tries to play a big shot against you, you are in the game. If you keep the fielders back, the batter will feel it’s already happened, But if you go up to the batsman and ask him to hit, you are in the game. Even for Babur. Put the field up, attack it. After two dot balls, they will hit you for sure.
Do you find batsmen lacking patience in all formats these days?
There is a lack of patience in the batsmen now because Test cricket has also changed. England has now changed the template of Test cricket and made it T20. However, patience is important and respect needs to be given to bowlers who are in the middle of a good spell. Although these days batsmen are in a hurry. There is a lot of discussion on the social media about the strike rate.
If we talk about Babar, he scored 100 runs in 52 balls against New Zealand. Where are those people who were talking about strike rate? Irrespective of the opposition team, 100 is always a hundred. Wherever you play, you need concentration and skill to perform well. Those who have done nothing talk about strike rate. Go first and play on the field. It is difficult to play a single ball when you are under pressure from the crowd, family, team and commentators. People need to understand that it is not easy. Sitting on the sofa watching the match and commenting.mai hota to aisa karta, You don’t have the potential that’s why you haven’t reached there. People don’t understand these things and keep talking about strike rate.
People are talking about Suryakumar Yadav and his form but I still give it to Suryah that he is not afraid to play his shots. He is getting out on his favorite shots but he is still playing them. This is a fearless cricketer. When he comes out of the bad phase, he will be a top-notch player again. I have bowled to great players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Brian Lara and great players enjoy bowling. Now it has become very easy to get hold of Cricket My Player.
India are not playing Yuzvendra Chahal regularly in the shortest format. Benched him for the entire T20 World Cup last year but he is doing well in the IPL and taking wickets.
I have been saying since many days but no one is listening. Chahal needs to go back to domestic cricket and bowl 20-25 overs and then come back for India. When you talk of wickets, nowadays even ordinary bowlers can take wickets. Even a batsman can take wickets in IPL. It is not a matter of wickets. The matter is related to the economy. Where is the economy rate?
When you have to stop the flow of runs in the middle overs, it is not happening. Wickets are coming but at the cost of runs. If I take one wicket and give 16 runs in one over, is it good or bad for my team? It’s too bad for my team. I think Yuji Chahal wants to bowl more fast. He is not giving loop and flight. Leg spin is an art and it is important that a leg spinner bowls leg spin. During my cricketing days, when I was in Australia, I met the great Richie Benaud. He also told me one thing and that was to master leg-spin. I tell everyone that once you master leg spin everything will be fine. But here everyone wants to try the variations- Go down, go down, go down
On Kuldeep’s return to form and rhythm
If I talk about Test matches and talk about Ashwin; He throws the carrom ball. But I want to say that when people can’t play your off-spin then why are you bringing carrom ball? During this, Kuldeep Yadav has improved a lot and he is giving a lot of loop and air to the ball. He doesn’t want to bowl fast and flat. The role of the coach and captain is to give courage to the bowler. ‘Tere four overs hai na, tu dil kholke bowling kar. Jo bhi tere ko pada hai, attacking field duga tere ko. You get me out ‘. I see it under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. The way he is leading Gujarat Titans this season.
on future stars of india
Look where cricket has gone. KL Rahul has been struggling for a long time. yes he is scoring runs and fifties but What are you doing?, No matter how I get 50 runs. There are some batsmen who should be in India’s set-up immediately. I have become a big fan of Sai Sudarshan. What a player he is. Rinku Singh. Look at his story, nobody knew him and he gave India another finishing option by hitting five sixes in five balls.
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