IPL 2018: Basil Thampi hitting the right lengths ahead of the tournament

The Indian Premier League is a platform for young talents to play alongside some of the best players in the world and showcase their talents so as to make positive progress in their career. The job is only half done when a player gets an IPL contract. He has to constantly work on his game and deliver a few performances to ensure that his stocks do not fall and he keeps getting selected for future games.

Kerela pacer Basil Thampi has been branded as a Yorker specialist. He looked like a seasoned campaigner right from his first game for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions. He kept bowling tight spells but it took him four games to claim his first wicket that was of big man Chris Gayle. Thampi is currently working with Glenn McGrath and chief coach M. Senthilnathan at the MRF Pace Foundation to pick up and improve on his fundamentals.

Thampi: The modern-day T20 bowler

“They would stand beside the stumps and during delivery time, they would command, ‘wide yorker’, ‘low full-toss’ and I had to bowl accordingly. We practiced this specifically. When I would start the run-up, I would have no idea what I would be asked to bowl,” Thampi told Sportstar on Tuesday. In the previous edition of the IPL, Thampi had taken the wickets of Pollard, Kohli, Dhoni and Manish Pandey.

The modern day bowlers have several tricks up their sleeve to troupe the batsman. However, the old-fashioned yorker is still one of the most difficult balls to get away with and Thampi is becoming a master of perfecting it. In practice sessions, he ensures that he bowls six yorkers or low full toss deliveries in as many deliveries.

“Four overs, two with the new ball, along with these training methods, have made me confident of my variations. Even the runs conceded were calculated. These days, batsmen walk on the crease, so we were practicing how to bowl to them as well,” he added.

Chief coach feels that Thampi can become a seasoned T20 campaigner. He tries his best to maintain good fitness levels to avoid injuries. “He has got the speed and he has understood the shortest version of the game. You need a certain kind of an idea to bowl in the T20 format. A player needs to know his strengths and weaknesses. We have worked on the strengths.” Chief coach Senthilnathan told sportstar.

The Kerala pacer is eager to represent his new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has got one national call-up in the T20 series against Sri Lanka last year already under his belt. A couple of good performances in the IPL can further boost his chances.

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