Master Class Session 1
Jan 22 2007
Dilip Vengarkar gives an expert advice to cricket star team
Dilip Vengarkar came to the MIG cricket grounds in Mumbai not to select members of the list of probables for the World Cup. Instead he came to spend time with the contestants of the Cricket Star Program. He certainly left the aspirants with a valuable advice at the end of the day. But the day was spent under the strict scrutiny of the chairman of selectors.
Vengsarkar watched the boys in action in the nets and had a word of praise of a few including Bhagirath. After watched the bowlers closely, he proceeded to shed light on the classic finesse and mastery over the cover drive.
Appearing somewhat frustrated by the boys' attempts at the cover drive, he drew the boys closer to show them first hand the technique and follow through that truly made him one of the masters of the exquisite shot.
Soumya and Karan Joshi were the two players who caught the eye of the Vengsarkar in terms of playing the cover drive closer to aspirations. Set up in an almost one-on-one battle between the two, Soumya eased past the watchful eyes of Vengsarkar even though Karan recorded just as many shots. Perhaps it was the natural grace and elegance of Soumya when playing the cover drive that captured Vengsarkar when compared to Karan`s sometimes ungainly ones.
Dinesh Salunke, man of the match from the first Twenty20 match, was closely probed and prodded by Vengsarkar to grasp the grace of the cover drive. But the marauding middle order batsman failed despite repeated attempts.
Dinesh Salunke was left stumped. `Patha nahin Sachin cover drive kaise khelta hain! (Don't know how Sachin played the cover drive),` was all that Dinesh was left saying as he contemplated long after Vengsarkar walked off the field.
The chairman of selectors was content overall with the mix of individuals at the Cricket Star Academy. But Vengsarkar was clear in his mind that the boys needed to improve a lot, especially since many did not have the experience of playing at the junior levels.
He left the boys with the motivation to aspire to the next level of the game but also, to keep the value of dedication and discipline firmly ingrained if the road higher was their way to go!
