By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : The advantage of having Greg Chappell as head coach of the Rajasthan cricket academy is that the local coaches would gain from his vast experience, former Rajasthan and India batsman-turned-coach Parthasarthi Sharma said Friday.
“The one good thing about Chappell’s presence is that the coaches who are attached with the Rajasthan Cricket Association’s (RCA) academy in Jaipur will also get to learn from him,” Sharma told IANS during the Pakistan-Delhi tour opener at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
“I was one of those who interacted with Chappell when he took over as the academy coach recently. There are about five-six Level II coaches in Rajasthan and they will gain from the experience,” said the former Test opener.
Sharma, who played five Tests between 1974 and 1977, agreed that the difference between the former Australian captain’s stature and the youngsters at the academy was huge and this could very well make them uneasy.
He felt that the players would gain from the exposure, nonetheless.
On Chappell’s success in his second stint in India – his first experience was a two-year tenure with the national team – Sharma preferred not to sit in judgement.
“It is too early to talk about it,” said the 59-year-old.
The world-class academy, as is being touted by RCA president Lalit Modi, is based at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
Sharma has also been associated with the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
While at NCA, Sharma was among those who encouraged youngsters to play with lighter bats.
“What has happened today is that the ‘drive’ has almost vanished from the batsman’s repertoire as they all have developed this habit of taking the stance with a raised bat,” he reasoned.
“With a lighter bat, they will also be able to play the ‘drive’,” said the Alwar-born player.