Venkatesh Iyer became an overnight trend after his Indian Premier League appearance last time in the 2021 edition. Since then whenever he got an opportunity he tried to showcase his mettle and skill. The recently concluded T20I series against the West Indies was no different. The curious case of Hardik Pandya’s recovery may make the way for the 27-year old in the 2022 T20 World Cup and therefore his coach Anand Ranjan is helping him to improve his bowling skills.
"Our main focus for him is to make him bowl 10 to 12 overs a day, whether he is playing a four-day game for MP or Vijay Hazare. He has to bowl 10 overs with intent. There could be a few technical changes in the action, which will help him bowl a little faster than how he is bowling now, plus accuracy," Rajan, who was with the MRF Pace Academy from 2004 to 2009, told Sportstar.
Raj revealed how they had planned for every West Indian batter. "Depending on the games to come, we plan accordingly. We shortlisted the batsmen to whom he may have to bowl. We try to execute those plans in the practice sessions. A few players are known, and you know what lengths to bowl. We had videos of Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard and Rovman Powell. And since the ODIs happened before the T20Is, we saw the others also."
Venkatesh Iyer got only 37 balls in three innings but ended up claiming two wickets. Now Ranjan’s aim is to make Venky a potent bowling option ahead of the T20 World Cup. The duo tries to spend one hour at least with each other whenever Venkatesh is in town.
The ODI omission, after only two games in South Africa, according to the coach made the Kolkata Knight Rider retained opener disturbed for a while. "He was tense and a bit nervous after the South Africa series. Now we know that one poor performance could change things since so many people are waiting in the pipeline. He has to make every opportunity count. Hopefully, the IPL will be good for him."
The left-handed all-rounder is currently in Lucknow with the Indian team for the curtain-raiser T20I against Sri Lanka, scheduled for 24 February, 2022.