[1]The fifth edition of the Indian Premier League may be in full swing, but that did stop the Deccan Chargers to spend quality time with a group of young aspiring cricketers at the Gymkhana Grounds here on Thursday.
Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara, coach Darren Lehmann, fielding coach Trevor Penny, Manpreet Gony and Amit Mishra imparted their skills as part of a coaching clinic in association with the team sponsor Emirates. The kids were thrilled to have met their idols.
“Sanga is one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball and it was nice to have met him. He told me how to watch the ball till the last minute before executing your shot,” said Sai Pavan, student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s, Sainikpuri.
On his part, the southpaw was all praise for the initiative. “As international players it is our duty to support the youngsters. I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction. The first set of players whom I met when I was growing up were Aravinda De Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne. The key thing in any sport is to enjoy the game. Once you do that, the rest of the aspects will fall in place,” Sanga said.
On being chosen as one of the Five Cricketers of the Year and as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2011 in the 2012 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Sanga said, “It is a great honour. I feel very humble and privileged.”
Coach Lehmann was impressed by the abundance of talent. “These bunch of boys are gifted ones. I hope they continue to improve their skills and go on to play at the highest level. You never know which child will grow up to become the next Sangakkara or Dale Steyn” he said.
Amit Mishra opined that the role of coaches is important in grooming the players. “They all have the talent. It is only a matter of executing them well in order to reap maximum returns,” the leg-spinner said.
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