“Mahendra Singh Dhoni can keep with his eyes closed. He is that good,” former India wicketkeeper Kiran More had once told this reporter in good humour.
Whether the World Cup-winning captain ever tried doing it is a question for another day, but there does exist one glovesman, who was spotted doing catching drills without opening his eyes ahead of the Ranji Trophy game.
The Elite Group ‘C’ fixture between Tamil Nadu and Tripura at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium in Agartala had entered the second day without a ball being bowled due to poor visibility. There was a prolonged four-hour hold-up on Saturday as well - bad light being the reason once again - which gave the players enough time to limber up in phases.
Near the extra cover region, TN’s wicketkeepers Narayan Jagadeesan and Suresh Lokeshwar were engaged in a conversation with fielding coach R. Srinivasan. The trio soon shifted to regular catching drills behind target stumps.
READ | Mumbai’s Tanush Kotian grinds on after putting behind ‘reported action’ drama and IPL snub
A while later, Jagadeesan was seen having an animated conversation with Lokeshwar regarding something on collecting the ball behind the sticks. Next, Jagadeesan, 28, asked Srinivasan to keep the catching board close to his mitts and the former Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper proceeded to catch a few balls directed at him - with his eyes closed!
Lokeshwar, clearly amused, proceeded to do the same under Jagadeesan’s watchful eyes. Sportstar caught up with Srinivasan and Jagadeesan after the drill to understand the science behind this curious routine.
“It’s done to build an instinct that can be recreated during match situations. As soon as you feel the ball hit the glove, it should close automatically,” Srinivasan says.
“Loki (Lokeshwar) was going with the hands every time. Jaggi (Jagadeesan) wanted him to move his body behind the ball and collect it just in time. And that is where this instinct will help. Many wicketkeepers tend to close the gloves before collecting the ball. So, it pops out. This was inculcated by Gregory King (South African Strength and Conditioning coach) of CSK (Chennai Super Kings). That’s what Jaggi was sharing with us,” he added, when asked where Lokeshwar was going wrong.
Jagadeesan explained the logic behind the exercise further. He said, “Take spinners, for example. They often vary their speeds. I might be used to keeping to someone, who bowls a decent speed; say 90kmph. Your hands are used to the speed the ball is coming at. And all of a sudden, if he pulls down the speed, giving the ball a bit of loop, the speed will come down to maybe 84-85kmph. But your muscle memory would be falling into the pattern of the older 90kmph ball. So, your hands will tend to close a bit earlier than it has to.
“I have been doing it since the time I was with CSK, maybe 2020. At times, we tend to close the glove early. Especially when the ball is moving, it tends to come late to the ‘keeper. When you hit the blind spot, it’s basically about movement. The exercise helps you make it a part of your involuntary muscle memory.”
Comments
SHARE