Ranji trophy: Crist — adding teeth to TN’s pace attack

March 06, 2015 12:03 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:15 pm IST - Chennai:

Aswin Crist. File Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Aswin Crist. File Photo: Sandeep Saxena

The wheel has turned a full circle for Tamil Nadu. Having started the Ranji Trophy this season with a loss to defending champion Karnataka, Tamil Nadu is pitted against the same opponent, this time in the final beginning on March 8.

The two-and-a-half-month period has seen the team re-discover its mojo; notching up wins, batsmen scoring runs and bowlers picking up wickets. While the spinners have had their way in home games, the speedsters have expressed themselves in away games.

Adding a new hue to its pace attack, comprising L. Balaji, Prasanth Parameswaran and Vijay Shankar, is the 21-year-old Aswin Crist, who has picked up 13 wickets in three matches.

“The team,” says Aswin, “is confident of doing well [in the final against Karnataka], we have been gelling well as a unit, and will play positive cricket.

“Every match has helped me learn. The seniors like Bala anna [Balaji] have been very helpful, be it with tips for a particular batsman or to encourage me when things aren’t going my way.

“To detect a batsman’s weakness is something I am learning along the way.

“All the seniors and those with whom I have played a lot, like Indrajith and Aparajith, regularly chip in and help me evolve,” says the speedster who had an otherwise not so good first Ranji season (just five wickets in five matches in 2013-14).

Aswin’s father, Antony Chandrasekar, a superintendent with the Customs and Central Excise, shifted from Thoothukudi, to nurture his son’s love for the game. “Every step that I take, I am ever grateful to my parents for all the support in times good and bad. My mother Premalatha has been a pillar of strength.”

From his formative years with the St. Bede’s school team to his second season in the Ranji it has been a learning curve for this MRF Pace Foundation ward. “I joined the MRF foundation in 2011, and since then there has been a definite improvement,” he says.

Aswin owes a lot of this success to the work put in by many people during the course of his short career.

Having a watchful M. Senthilnathan, the foundation’s chief coordinator and chief coach, groom him has helped this right-arm medium-pacer work on his strengths, which are speed and control. “Whenever Glenn McGrath visits us at the Pace Foundation, his advice is ‘realise your strengths and stick to it’,” says Aswin, who looks up to Dale Steyn.

The constant help from physio A. Satheesh Kumar to help recover from injuries has played a big part in his growth as a player.

Then there is the former TN and South Zone cricketer J. Madanagopal, under whose discerning eye Aswin prospered while playing for Vijay CC and the State under-23 team.

The Vivekanada College commerce student has gone through some rough patches as well. “It was during my stint with the State u-19 team that I was thoroughly disappointed with my bowling. M. Shanmugam, the coach, helped me not only cope with it, but also come out of the bad phase. It is something I will always remember. My trainer at MRF, S. Rajnikanth, motivates me, especially when it comes to keeping fit.”

The youngster unwinds watching movies with his friends or family.

“I am an outgoing person, but with a lot of time spent on cricket, most of my friends are within that circle.”

The India cap is firmly in his sights, but the avid reader wants to take it one step at a time.

The long journey, he knows, has just begun.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.