Deshpande's no-balls a "big worry" for Mumbai coach Pandit

Tushar Deshpander, playing only his third Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai, was the pick of the bowlers on the first day against Madhya Pradesh.

Published : Oct 20, 2016 20:29 IST , Mumbai

Tushar Deshpande's (left) good line and length bowling was overshadowed by seven no-balls, two of which deprived him off a wicket.
Tushar Deshpande's (left) good line and length bowling was overshadowed by seven no-balls, two of which deprived him off a wicket.
lightbox-info

Tushar Deshpande's (left) good line and length bowling was overshadowed by seven no-balls, two of which deprived him off a wicket.

When a pace bowler oversteps in his delivery stride, it’s an agonising feeling for him to walk back all the way and bowl an additional ball. When he gets a wicket off a no-ball, but adds an extra run instead of a wicket, it turns out to be a miserable feeling. Welcome to the world of Tushar Deshpande.

The rookie bowler, playing only his third game for Mumbai, was the pick of the bowlers on the first day against Madhya Pradesh. However, his adorable discipline – both with line and length – was overshadowed by seven no-balls, two of which deprived him off a wicket and will be remembered more than his disciplined bowling.

Head coach Chandrakant Pandit minced no words in stating Deshpande’s no-balls is a “big worry” for the team.

“That is a big worry because this is the fifth wicket that he has been deprived of because of a no-ball. And in this kind of a game where there is hardly anything for the bowlers, it can cost us the game,” Pandit said, after Mumbai toiled to see MP crawling to 239 for two.

With the Ranji Trophy scheduled in a manner nowadays that gives very little opportunity for any player to work on his technical deficiencies, Pandit is heartened with the improvement in Deshpande’s customary overstepping problem.

“We have been working on this aspect. Not just now, but we have been working with him since the pre-season tournaments. He has become much, much better,” Pandit said.

“Omkar (bowling coach Omkar Salvi) has been working with him really hard since the KSCA tournament (in August) where he used to bowl 15-20 no-balls. It has now come down to four-five an innings, but still that does not solve our problem.”

After this round, Mumbai will get a ten-day break before it resumes its campaign post-Diwali. While some of his team-mates will take a break, Deshpande is likely to hit the nets again, trying to perfect his run-up and landing at the right place.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment