Vaisakh Chandran on dream Ranji debut for Kerala: My hard work has paid off

Debutant off-spinner Vaisakh Chandran took seven wickets in Kerala’s win over Jharkhand in its Ranji Trophy opener.

FILE PHOTO: Kerala’s off-spinner Vaisakh Chandran | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Off spinner Vaisakh Chandran made a sensational debut in Ranji Trophy by grabbing five wickets in the second innings which played a big part in Kerala’s win against Jharkhand in Ranchi on Friday.

Vaisakh’s second innings figures of 5/57 included the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Saurabh Tiwary. He also took two wickets in the first innings (2/81) to finish with match figures of 7/138.

His debut performance was similar to his T20 debut a year ago when he took 4/11 to bowl Kerala to a huge win over Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy cricket tournament.

“I had waited long for opportunities and my goal was to perform well on my debut. I am glad I was able to do well on my T20 debut last year and now in Ranji Trophy,’‘ said Vaisakh Chandran, who had earlier played for Kerala under-14 and under-16 cricket teams.

“The wicket was flat in the first innings but there was some help for the spinners in the second. I varied my pace and bowled to my field. The team management had faith in me. Jalaj Saxena was also helpful and his pep talk before the start of the second innings motivated me to do well,’‘ he added.

“My hard work has paid off. I changed my run-up and bowling action and it has paid dividends. I am getting more drift now and I am flighting the ball more. I know how to bowl a carrom ball and leg break but I am still not confident to use them in a match. I am still working on it with my coach Biju George,’‘ said Vaisakh.

Biju, who has been coaching Vaisakh for the last eight years, said his ward’s bowling had stagnated as he was not getting wickets and was becoming predictable for the batters. “Vaisakh was accurate but was also predictable. He earlier had a diagonal run-up but now he comes in a lot straighter. I changed his loading and now, he is able to get more drift and is flighting the ball more. He worked hard, bowling close to four hours in the net to perfect the action,’‘ said Biju.

Vaisakh has attended trials for a few IPL teams and is hoping that someone will pick him up during the IPL auction on December 23.