The Hindu : Valuable tips to his old mates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 14, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

Valuable tips to his old mates

By Vijay Lokapally

Vinod Kambli, the former Indian player, who is now playing first class cricket in South Africa, met his old mates and offered them advice on the conditions and the nature of pitches. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

JOHANNESBURG FEB. 13. "May I help you?'' asked the nattily dressed man, of Sachin Tendulkar, who smiled at the sight of his dear friend, Vinod Kambli. An old mate was at the service of the Indian cricketers, with impeccable data on the playing conditions likely to be encountered during the ICC Cricket World Cup.

"Ask me anything. I've been around for some time,'' said Kambli, the former India cricketer, who has just finished a season of first-class cricket in South Africa. ``Please don't refer to me as former cricketer,'' remarked the affable Kambli when one addressed him so at the Boland Park even as India struggled to put it across Holland. "I'll make a comeback. Mark my words,'' he asserted.

If his coach at Boland, Deon Muller is to be believed, the Mumbai left-hander and Tendulkar's best friend has played some sensational knocks. "He's been superb. A big motivation for the young players in our team,'' said Muller.

"His batting has been a high point for us but I would've loved to see him convert those superb 60s into 100s. I did give him a piece of my mind every time he lost his wicket but I tell you he's looked a compact batsman the whole summer,''

Muller confirmed Kambli's claims that he had been having a good time with the bat here.

A major gain for Kambli from his stint here was his much-improved show against the rising ball.

"I was said to be weak against the short-pitched ball but in this season here I've learnt to handle the rising ball better.

"And I've learnt to become a better batsman with a few useful things that I learnt after coming here,'' said Kambli, who was never picked for India's tours here in 1992-93 and 1996-97.

So, when the Indians arrived in Cape Town for the match against Holland, Kambli did not lose time in contacting his former mates.

Kambli was more than willing to share his experience of the season, especially his reading of the pitches and how best could the Indians exploit them.

Kambli had warned the Indians of the pitch at Paarl being two-paced.

"To score runs you need to stay on these pitches because the ball can behave strangely. It'll take a while for the batsmen to make the adjustments but I think the pitches will work in our favour. The outfield at Centurion would be fast and the batsmen have to watch out for the bounce too. At Durban, the batsmen will have to be careful because the ball is likely to seam around,'' said Kambli.

The Indians clearly did not read the pitch well at Paarl when the batsmen showed undue hurry to get on with their job.

The pressure on the middle order grew once the top half collapsed and it was indeed India's fortune that Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia showed discipline.

Probably they remembered Kambli's wisdom when he advised them to wait for the ball.

The same argument was presented by Pravin Amre who was keen to share a session with the Indian team before it left.

It would not have been a bad idea for the Board to have organised interaction between some former players and the current team before it left for the World Cup.

Amre has some fond memories of South Africa — a century on Test debut on a wicked track at Durban and a match-winning knock in the one-dayer at East London, both innings coming on the tour in 1992-93.

And then a successful season with Boland saw Amre justify the contract which had come following a recommendation from Sunil Gavaskar.

```The pitches will have bounce and the batsmen will have to watch out when playing certain strokes on the rise.

"The pitch at Centurion can pose problems and the fast outfield would test the fielders. But we need to show faith in our team and back the players to win the Cup,'" he had told The Hindu before the World Cup.

Kambli's initiative here was purely individual and borne out of the desire to help his mates. Given the state of the team, his valuable tips would have gone a long way in making some of the super stars understand the fact that they would need to adapt soon if India hoped to win the Cup.

``Of course India has the capability of winning the Cup. Our batsmen are mature and the bowling is one of the best in the tournament. I think India is going to throw a few surprises in this World Cup,'' said Kambli, who wished the team well before parting company in the scenic Paarl.

It may not be too late for the team to pay attention to what Kambli told them during their interaction at Paarl. It was clear that Tendulkar had shown the inclination to adapt by waiting for the ball and Kambli was the man most pleased with his half-century. The two parted with Tendulkar promising his mate much better stuff.

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