There was an air of flamboyance at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Academy nets facility situated at the SRMC campus in Chennai on Monday.
The visiting West Indies Academy batters, who are in the midst of a two-week intensive training camp, displayed glimpses of Caribbean flair, bringing out their repertoire of attacking shots, including reverse sweeps and paddle sweeps, against the CSK Academy spinners.
But the young bowlers were up to the task, varying the pace and flight to deceive the batters, forcing a few mistimed slog sweeps and broken stumps.
Seven U-25 cricketers from the archipelago, including the internationally capped Kirk McKenzie and Jewel Andrew, were accompanied by West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe and assistant coach Rohan Nurse for the spin-focused camp.
“The camp has been really good. I’d like to thank CSK for extending the opportunity for our young players to come and develop here. It shows their commitment to developing the global game,” Subasinghe told Sportstar.
“We are having good discussions here, getting to hear different voices, different methods, which our boys can absorb and then find their own method with that input”Ramesh Subhasinghe, West Indies Academy head coach
“For us, it [the camp] was more about the conditions, the red and black soil plus the variety of bowlers that our players get to face, which is unique for us. We’ve seen every [type of] spinner that we had to see. We don’t get that in the Caribbean,” he remarked.
CSK Academy head coach Sriram Krishnamurthy said that apart from providing support to the West Indies players, the camp will also give the local talent a chance to learn from the internationals.
“What we can provide through these sorts of trips is an exposure for our players to learn off international cricketers in our backyard and to have that cultural experience of knowing how different people from different countries prepare for their cricket. So, I think it’s a win-win from both ends,” Sriram said.
A general view of the CSK Academy in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
Nigamanth P.
A general view of the CSK Academy in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
Nigamanth P.
Subasinghe, who took over as head coach of the West Indies Academy team in April this year, says this camp is part of a ‘holistic approach’ being taken to develop talent in the West Indies.
“We’re putting a lot of stuff in place at the moment in the Caribbean. I think in the modern day it is important that all player development programs have a holistic development lens to them. For a proud nation with six ICC titles, the West Indies doesn’t have a state-of-the-art High-Performance facility,” he said.
The best U-17 and U-19 talent in the country is picked up by the Academy or the Combined Campuses and Colleges team, the two development-focused sides in the domestic setup.
The Academy and the college side function as separate teams in the West Indies domestic circuit along with the six regular regional entities (Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Windward Islands and Leeward Islands).
“At the moment it’s [domestic cricket] very performance-focused. So, there is a need for a strong development cricket development wing to be established there,” Subasinghe said.
Providing the subcontinent experience
Apart from testing the batters in the nets, the camp also involved a two-day game where the visitors were made to bat 150 overs each day.
“Having to counter the heat and humidity with the spinning ball and the pitches that are cracking, that’s something new for us. So batting for a day or two takes a lot of mental application and skills,” the West Indies coach opined.
West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe (R) with CSK Academy coach Sriram Krishnamurthy.
| Photo Credit:
Nigamanth P.
West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe (R) with CSK Academy coach Sriram Krishnamurthy.
| Photo Credit:
Nigamanth P.
“We are having good discussions here, getting to hear different voices, different methods, which our boys can absorb and then find their own method with that input,” he added.
Sriram too said that the ability to play long innings under such hot and humid conditions will be the biggest takeaway for the team.
“We said the challenge we are giving here is to bat 150-160 overs which means they’ve got to bat out time. Ultimately that is what I think you’re expected to do when you step up to the next level,” the CSK coach said.
“These opportunities are for them to get game smart, get more ideas around what it may be to bat against different sorts of spin—how to use the crease, how to get themselves into positions while they are batting that allows them to be more productive and proactive,” he added.