Learn from them

Extracted from cricinfo:

Brett Lee, for the two weeks he was available, was a big brother to the fast
bowlers. One young Indian bowler talks of the "highly emotional" atmosphere in
the dressing room the day Lee left. "We became so close to him that we felt
bad when he said goodbye. The amount we learnt from him in such a short time
was unbelievable. He used to treat every practice session as if it was his
last."


Sangakkara has missed the last four games but that hasn't stopped him from
making a serious contribution. "Uday Kaul [the young replacement wicketkeeper]
had never kept to quality fast bowling before," says a team member, "but
Sangakkara has ensured he gets adequate training." Even during the early
games, Sangakkara made sure Kaul got enough preparation in the nets.


The prolific Rohit Sharma has attributed part of his success to Adam
Gilchrist. "He told me not to get swayed by the results, as my job is only to
keep performing." Delhi's young bowlers can't stop raving about Glenn McGrath,
and over in Jaipur, Shane Warne has been inspiring a whole generation.


McGrath's influence goes beyond his role as a fast bowler: he asked for videos
of Pradeep Sangwan's Ranji Trophy matches to analyse his action and suggest
improvements. "McGrath makes it a point to stand at mid-off or mid-on when the
youngsters are bowling," says TA Sekhar, cricket operations chief of GMR
Holdings, the owner of the Delhi franchise. "Now that itself is a great
inspiration for young bowlers like Yo Mahesh and Sangwan. If they bowl a
no-ball, he's encouraging them, telling them how to deal with the free-hit
ball. If they bowl five good balls, he makes sure they don't get carried away
with the sixth."


Halhadar Das, the Orissa wicketkeeper who plays for the Hyderabad franchise,
says he never imagined he would even see Gilchrist, let alone learn from him.
Sumit Khatri, Rajasthan's chinaman bowler, says he needs to pinch himself
every time Warne says "Well bowled." And S Badrinath, who is yet to make the
national side despite years of domestic consistency, talks of the lessons
learnt from Michael Hussey, who went through a similar phase ("His message was
simple," Badrinath says. "Enjoy whatever you are doing and the rest will
follow")


Ricky Ponting's dedication to fielding was an eye-opener for everyone in the
Kolkata side. "His dedication to fielding is unbelievable," says Aakash
Chopra, the former India opener who's currently with the Knight Riders. "If he
gets a direct hit, he analyses what went right. If he misses, he analyses what
went wrong. It's the attention to detail that was mind-boggling for us."


Australians have dominated the tournament so far but it's been their attitude
to practice that has really benefited their teams. McGrath is the first to
arrive at nets and the last to leave (The Editor adds: As captain, Ganguly was
always the last to arrive and first to leave during Wright's time). Ponting
ensured that every batting session was planned properly, and while he may not
have scored many runs, his approach was inspiration enough. Warne has managed
to throw in tactics even while relaxing in a swimming pool in Goa. ("It was
great to sit around the pool and talk about how to construct an over," he
said.)


The approach is likely to rub off. "I always wondered how some Australians
manage to score despite looking so badly out of form," says one former India
player. "Now I realise it's because of the amount they practise. They target
one area and go on striking the ball there, irrespective of the length. It's
such routines that makes them come out of slumps."