Young Indian pacers on a roll in IPL ’22 as they learn from the best mentors, coaches

NEW DELHI, April 17: Like every season of the IPL since its inception, the ongoing 15th edition of the cash-rich league has also thrown up names of some young exciting fast bowlers, who have shown their spark but it hasn’t happened overnight and required years of hard work, constant growth and the learning and support from their first coaches.
Most of these young fast bowlers have learned the basics of the game from their first coaches and now have the coaching from the best in the business in the world’s most competitive cricket league.
Among these uncapped players, few fetched good amount of money in the mega auction, which may surprise people outside, but those who are involved with the franchises know that these cricketers have talent and they have qualified experts in the form of coaches, mentors in their support staff, who can turn these youngsters into ‘match winners’.
The likes of Kuldeep Sen, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and others have troubled the batters either with their swing or raw pace and even with their variations and different bowling actions in the ongoing IPL season so far. These youngsters are definitely not the “finished article” as of now, but certainly have the talent and able support, which could take them miles in future.
IANS takes a look at the ex-coaches and current ‘gurus’ in IPL, which played or will play a big role in these young cricketers’ growth.
Kuldeep Sen
Madhya Pradesh’s right-arm pacer Kuldeep Sen made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday and impressed everyone with his pace.
The fast bowler from Rewa, around 450kms from the state capital Bhopal near the Uttar Pradesh border, cleaned up Deepak Hooda for 25 in his second over and later successfully defended 15 off the last over to help his team register a win in a close contest.
The 25-year-old Sen announced his arrival as a fast bowler with a scorching delivery clocked at 146.3 kmph to Lucknow opener Quinton de Kock during the game between Rajasthan and Lucknow.
His coach Aril Anthony came as a saviour in his life. From Kuldeep’s training gear, spikes to diet, Anthony took care of everything.
Vaibhav Arora
The 24-year-old Arora is another budding talent who has impressed everyone with his performance. Making his IPL debut with Punjab Kings, the pacer had rattled the Chennai Super Kings batting line-up and also had a decent outing in the next few matches. The right-arm pacer plays for Himachal Pradesh in Indian domestic cricket. Though he was picked by KKR for Rs 20 lakh in the IPL 2021 auction, he made his debut for PBKS, who bought him for Rs 2 crore.
Arora thought of quitting cricket owing to his financial turmoil and constant rejections. But Ravi Verma, Vaibhav’s coach supported him and asked the cricketer not to give up.
Umran Malik
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran’s cricketing journey has been precisely like his bowling — fast. He didn’t have any idea of professional cricket till as late as 2017. One day, along with his best friend Abdul Samad (now also part of SRH), he went to see Randhir Manhas at a Cricket Stadium in Jammu. Abdul requested his coach to have a look at his friend, who had already made a name for himself in the Jammu tennis-ball circuit.
Manhas asked him to bowl and was taken back by his pace and after getting impressed, the coach asked the youngsters to come to the practice everyday. And now, who better than South Africa pace legend Dale Steyn, to guide the young cricketer.
Yash Dayal
Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who is representing Gujarat Titans, had a bittersweet outing in his debut IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday but he showed glimpses of his wicket-taking ability to the cricketing world.
Bowling his first over in the IPL, Dayal conceded 15 runs but he managed to send Devdutt Padikkal back for a duck. In his next over, Jos Buttler smashed the pacer for three boundaries and a six. However, the 24-year-old made a good comeback and took the wickets of Rassie van der Dussen and Yuzvendra Chahal. (IANS)