A group of boys dressed in white flannels are playing a friendly game of cricket on the Lutheran English Medium School campus at Brodiepet.
Siva Kumar, the senior cricket coach arrives and in a few minutes, the boys line up. Siva demonstrates the technique of playing a front-foot defence stroke, the importance of keeping the position of head still and the balance while playing the stroke.
The children watch him keenly and Karthik Suhas, a class II student, plays a few shots and the rest of the boys go through the routines under the shade of giant trees on the LEM School campus.
“We teach the boys the basics of the game. After a few rounds of warm-up, the boys go through batting, bowling and fielding sessions,” Mr. Siva Kumar says.
On the other side of the ground, another coach Pingali Venkateswara Rao keeps the boys in the age group of 12-16 busy with a fielding practice. Holding a bat in his hand, Rao taps it and let the boys take a catch.
“Always bend your knees and take the ball with both your hands. The hands should more forward and backward as you complete the catch. Keep your eyes focused on the ball,” Rao says as he prods the boys to catch.
The senior boys are into net practice at the far end of the ground under the watchful eyes of senior cricket coach P. Sarath Kumar.
The month-long summer cricket coaching camp began on May 1 and would continue for a month. Over 150 boys in five different age groups are taking part in the camp.
