Quirk in progress: Warne advantage for spinner with a difference

Quirk in progress: Warne advantage for spinner with a difference

Shivani Naik

Posted online: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 2354 hrs IST

Jaipur, April 29
In a tournament gradually legitimising bizarre shots, chances are that spin-bowling’s most enigmatic eccentricity might pass unnoticed.

Sumit Khatri is only a fringe-local featuring on the Rajasthan Royals’ extended roster of 25 and the only chinaman bowler in the IPL. But his oddity may be lost, especially since Khatri might not see any real action in the tournament. Even some cricket websites have slotted the left-armer as right medium-pacer or off-break bowler.

But the slow left-arm unorthodox bowler — a rare species even internationally — will have spent 45 days with Shane Warne, the one bowling-figure who best understands his unique web of tricks.

Vasu Paranjpe, who has watched a sprinkling of chinaman bowlers play on the domestic circuit (he distinctly remembers Maharashtra’s Vithal Joshi in the ‘60s) and not progress much further, says, “Unless he gets lucky with a captain like Warne, he’ll struggle to be picked. It’s the most difficult to control and while 2-3 balls from a chinaman can turn a Test match on its head, 2-3 bad balls can also change a player’s career.

“I’m not sure if any captain will play him in T20 — where a bad ball can be costly. And there aren’t too many captains on the domestic circuit who like taking risks. It’s not about a brave, but an imaginative captain,” he adds.

At 20, Khatri has survived the biggest storm for a chinaman spinner. That of retaining his bowling-style, which comes with copious cautionary notes, equal in length to a chinaman’s definition. Predominantly a batsman in his seven years at Sawai Mansingh Stadium’s RCC nets, Khatri was called aside one day by the late Hanumant Singh three years ago. His left wrist had twisted a couple of deliveries prodigiously from off to leg, during what Khatri calls a “faltoo, time-pass practice session”, and Hanumant was impressed.

“Hanumant sir said, ‘chhodna mat is style ko. Tum India kheloge, toh ispe (Don’t change your style. If you play for India, it will be because of this),” Khatri recalls. Stories of his ‘unortodoxy’ travelled quickly across the desert, and the Jaipur boy was summoned by Ajay Jadeja, Rajasthan’s Ranji captain, in Mumbai while in town with Central Zone under 19s.

“He made me bowl six balls and said he couldn’t promise selection for next game (vs Bengal). Kuchh nai toh Kolkata ghumaane le chalta hoon, Paaji ne kaha (If nothing else, I’ll take you for a free trip to Kolkata, he told me),” Khatri recalls. He did get to play, and scalped Sourav Ganguly at Eden Gardens in an otherwise expensive spell of 2-171. “I was scared making my first-class debut so suddenly, but I enjoyed bowling,” he says of his only Ranji Trophy game.

Rajasthan’s highest wicket-taker in the Cooch Behar trophy earlier this season, he was a stand-bye for the youth World Cup in Malaysia.

“It’s a high watching the surprise in the batsmen’s eyes when they see me bowl for the first time,” he chuckles, adding that he now watches Aussie Brad Hogg closely, since shock-value won’t take him too far, control and consistency will.

Resistance to being changed, has been Khatri’s biggest challenge. “Oh wow, chinaman!” was how Shane Warne greeted the youngster at the first Rajasthan Royals nets. “I keep asking Warne about the flipper, because I’ve never seen anyone bowl the faster-one like him.”

Many fingers will be crossed while one left-wrist dabbles at quirks.

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Quirk in progress: Warne advantage for spinner with a difference Shivani Naik Posted online: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 2354 hrs IST Jaipur, April 29 In a tournament gradually legitimising bizarre shots, chances are that spin-bowling’s most enigmatic eccentricity might pass unnoticed. Sumit Khatri is only a fringe-local featuring on the Rajasthan Royals’ extended roster of 25 and the only chinaman bowler in the IPL. But his oddity may be lost, especially since Khatri might not see any real action in the tournament. Even some cricket websites have slotted the left-armer as right medium-pacer or off-break bowler. But the slow left-arm unorthodox bowler — a rare species even internationally — will have spent 45 days with Shane Warne, the one bowling-figure who best understands his unique web of tricks. Vasu Paranjpe, who has watched a sprinkling of chinaman bowlers play on the domestic circuit (he distinctly remembers Maharashtra’s Vithal Joshi in the ‘60s) and not progress much further, says, “Unless he gets lucky with a captain like Warne, he’ll struggle to be picked. It’s the most difficult to control and while 2-3 balls from a chinaman can turn a Test match on its head, 2-3 bad balls can also change a player’s career. “I’m not sure if any captain will play him in T20 — where a bad ball can be costly. And there aren’t too many captains on the domestic circuit who like taking risks. It’s not about a brave, but an imaginative captain,” he adds. At 20, Khatri has survived the biggest storm for a chinaman spinner. That of retaining his bowling-style, which comes with copious cautionary notes, equal in length to a chinaman’s definition. Predominantly a batsman in his seven years at Sawai Mansingh Stadium’s RCC nets, Khatri was called aside one day by the late Hanumant Singh three years ago. His left wrist had twisted a couple of deliveries prodigiously from off to leg, during what Khatri calls a “faltoo, time-pass practice session”, and Hanumant was impressed. “Hanumant sir said, ‘chhodna mat is style ko. Tum India kheloge, toh ispe (Don’t change your style. If you play for India, it will be because of this),” Khatri recalls. Stories of his ‘unortodoxy’ travelled quickly across the desert, and the Jaipur boy was summoned by Ajay Jadeja, Rajasthan’s Ranji captain, in Mumbai while in town with Central Zone under 19s. “He made me bowl six balls and said he couldn’t promise selection for next game (vs Bengal). Kuchh nai toh Kolkata ghumaane le chalta hoon, Paaji ne kaha (If nothing else, I’ll take you for a free trip to Kolkata, he told me),” Khatri recalls. He did get to play, and scalped Sourav Ganguly at Eden Gardens in an otherwise expensive spell of 2-171. “I was scared making my first-class debut so suddenly, but I enjoyed bowling,” he says of his only Ranji Trophy game. Rajasthan’s highest wicket-taker in the Cooch Behar trophy earlier this season, he was a stand-bye for the youth World Cup in Malaysia. “It’s a high watching the surprise in the batsmen’s eyes when they see me bowl for the first time,” he chuckles, adding that he now watches Aussie Brad Hogg closely, since shock-value won’t take him too far, control and consistency will. Resistance to being changed, has been Khatri’s biggest challenge. “Oh wow, chinaman!” was how Shane Warne greeted the youngster at the first Rajasthan Royals nets. “I keep asking Warne about the flipper, because I’ve never seen anyone bowl the faster-one like him.” Many fingers will be crossed while one left-wrist dabbles at quirks.