Cricket
The current Nepal T20 cricket tournament presents an opportunity to Nepali cricketers to learn from foreign players. They could learn on and off the field. This is one of the several ways they can learn apart from their team coach.
On the field, they could watch how foreign batters plan their innings. How they identify bowlers to attack or defend. Nepali bowlers could note the lengths foreigners bowl in power play and the last four overs of the innings.
Off the field, budding Nepali cricketers could talk to experienced players about the finer points of the game. They could do this in the pavilion, hotels or during practice sessions.
More than 30 foreign players [see table] from Afghanistan, Barbados, England, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saint Vincent, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA, and Zimbabwe feature in the six franchise teams.
Foreign players are worth their high salaries. South African left-arm fast bowler Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk reaffirmed this Tuesday. He played the allrounder’s role for Lumbini All Stars against Pokhara Avengers at Kirtipur.
Player of the match Schalkwyk first helped his team by taking three wickets for 27 runs. Later, coming in at No 8, he blasted 31 runs, including four sixes, off just 11 balls at a strike rate of 281.81.
All Stars, chasing a victory target of 134, needed nine off the last over. Schalkwyk made his task easy by clobbering former India seamer Abhimanyu Mithun for two sixes off the 4th and 5th balls of the 19th over. The 34-year-old failed to take a single off the last ball. This left Anil Sah to score eight runs off the last over.
Left-arm seamer Pratis gave Avengers hope when he dismissed Sah (19 off 17 balls) caught by Ameer Hamza. Number 9 batter Kishore Mahato failed to score runs off the second and third balls. He took a single off the fourth. Schalkwyk’s powerful blow fetched him two runs off the fifth. All Stars needed five of the last ball. Schalkwyk hit a six and All Stars won by three wickets.
This is the value that experienced foreign players bring to Nepal T20. Schalkwyk’s match-winning effort highlights the importance of bowlers who can bat today. Nepali youngsters from both teams must have closely watched the South African’s performance on Tuesday.
Nepali cricketers need to learn from good foreign players. They need to train hard, watch videos, pay attention while the coach teaches. Above all inculcate discipline. Hard work without discipline leads to failure.
International cricket history shows many talented players faded away. Many lost their places in the team because of excessive alcohol, smoking and other substance abuse. Women and partying distracted some. A few could not handle stardom and the riches that followed their success on the cricket field.
In 1990s India lost leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan because he focused on the glitz and glamour in the company of his guru Ravi Shastri. He shifted his focus from cricket. He soon lost his place from the Indian team. Though he staged a comeback as a commentator. Another celebrated example is Vinod Kambli. His career ended sooner than most pundits expected. Some have succumbed to the pressure Test cricket inflicts. England’s Marcus Trescothick’s Test career ended because of anxiety and depression disorder.
Some determined players manage to revive their sagging careers. India’s Suryakumar Yadav has done that at a late stage. He had arrived with much talent and promise in 2010-11 Ranji Trophy season. Many critics prophesied he would soon play for India. That ‘soon’ came 10 years later, after a few controversies.
Many players had complained Surya was ‘hot headed’ as captain of Mumbai Ranji team. There were reports of arguments and fighting within the team. Mumbai selectors replaced him and told him to focus on his batting.
On March 14, 2021, Yadav made his T20 International debut at the late age of 31. He immediately announced his intent to the world by hooking the first ball he faced from fast bowler Jofra Archer for a six. His career has not hit a speed breaker since that six.
Yadav has scored 895 runs in T20 Internationals this year. Small wonder he ranks No 1 in the ICC Player Rankings for T20 batsmen. He has had some brilliant innings in Asia and World Cup. His 68 not out off 26 balls against Hong Kong stands out. In the 2021-22 season, he has amassed 1408 runs (highest 117) from 42 matches (40 innings), averaging 44 at the highest strike rate of 181.
Speaking about his successful year to Press Trust of India, Yadav said, “It still feels like a dream - as the world’s No. 1 T20 batter.” On how to cope with international pressure, he said, “One needs a smart approach. Instead of doing a lot of quantity, I did a lot of quality practice.”
On Yadav’s success, former India Test player and a successful coach Chandrakant Pandit told a cricket magazine, “He's mentally tough now, but a few years earlier, I did feel he could have had someone to guide him along the right path.”
Yadav was 21 when he played for Pandit’s club team. He scored 182 a day after Mumbai did not select him in the team, seemingly because of ‘a finger injury’. Yadav has put behind all setbacks, controversies, and frustration. He now focuses on the process. He does not think about the results and enjoys batting.
Budding Nepali cricketers could focus on the process, quality practice, and, most importantly, listen to successful and intelligent coaches, not any routine coach. Nepal cricket will then be able to fight and succeed against major teams in Asia.
