R Ashwin is very approachable and puts teammates at ease, says Dindigul Dragons assistant coach M Sanjay
Dindigul Dragons assistant coach M Sanjay addressed the media ahead of the team’s India Cements TN Premier League game against the VB Thiruvallur Veerans at the India Cements Limited Ground, Sankarnagar, Tirunelveli on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.
What is the update on R Ashwin’s availability?
Ashwin is expected to come tomorrow to play the game. He has booked his flight, but has asked for some rest somewhere along the way. We have to see which match we can rest him so that he recovers. He wanted some rest, that is why he is not playing in the Duleep Trophy also.We give him total freedom — he has the rights to pick his games because we understand he is a Tamilian, but he is also Indian.
So we give him importance there as well. He loves contributing. He wants to develop cricket in Tamil Nadu and he wants to pass on his experience. So whenever he can, he will play.
Given Ashwin’s uncertainty, do you think it will disturb the combination in the playing XI?
We had factored already that he might not be there and so we have our plans in place. If he is not there, we will need someone else to fill the gap. Basically we have our combination with or without him, with or without M Ashwin — we have planned and kept (ready). So it will not take us by surprise.
The boys are very adaptable and the boys have showed fantastic commitment. It (Ashwin’s absence) won’t affect us in any way.
How difficult is to sustain the momentum after winning two back to back games?
We are happy with the way the boys have played. It has gone beyond expectations and a lot of planning and preparation has gone (into it). We heard someone saying that ‘the way your team is playing, it looks like some international team is playing — such a professional outlook’ and we were pretty happy about that.
All of us (the trainers and coaches) have experience — trainer was with the Indian team and F1, (M) Venkatramana is a top-level coach in India and I have coached the state team. So we know what is necessary and we are doing everything to keep the tempo up. Boys are geared up for it and they have responded well.
They are really committed, they don’t complain and they are a fantastic bunch of boys.
How has Ashwin’s presence had an effect on the boys?
Ashwin is the number one all-rounder in the world and everyone is in awe of him. But he is approachable as well and he puts everyone at ease. History will probably record him as one of the greats in India, but he is a great person too. He is very proactive, he does a lot of preparation and he takes a personal interest on everything that is going on.
I have learnt a lot from him last year, when he led the Vijay Hazare side. He is an intense person and that rubs off on the boys.
Do you think batting is a concern, given that VB Thiruvallur Veerans have a good bowling side?
Right from the draft process, we were going for good bowlers. If there is one good leg spinner, then we needed the best leg spinner, if there is one good left arm spinner, then we needed the best left arm spinner and of course we have the best off-spinner in the world.
We went for a very good bowling side because there are very few good bowlers in the world. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year because of their bowling. The bowlers win you the games and if you take the pool of batsmen, there are 24 batsmen — nearly with the same skills with the exceptions of Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund and a few others.
In a T20 format, any one or two batsmen can get going and turn you the game. Two days back, it was Jagadeesan but there were small contributions from other batsmen who can make you the difference. There is Ganga Sridhar Raju, who is in the Indian Under-19 team and we hope to bring him back to the highest level.
We have taken many youngsters and we want to build talent. The management’s perspective is to take up young talents to make them play for the country and do well for the state. Subramaniya Siva, R Vivek and Sunny Singh are also good batsmen. It was Jagadeesan in the last game, it will be someone else next game.