Warne’s ‘spin guru’ wants to work with Chawla

He played 24 matches from 1971 to 1977 and holds the world record for the highest percentage of ‘caught’ dismissals.

O’Keefe is noted for his contribution in getting Shane Warne back in shape after the Sydney hammering against India in the summer of 1992. He worked with the champion leg-spinner, and from then on, is fondly known as the ‘spin guru’ and a master coach for leg-spinners.

And guess who O’Keefe wants to work with next? It’s Piyush Chawla. “He’s an interesting young talent, this Piyush. He’s only 18 or 19; I would like to work with him if we get an opportunity. There are certain little flaws in his release of the ball, and he needs to really rip the ball across with his wrists and complete his follow-through a lot more than he does,” he observed.

O’Keefe remembered how Chawla bamboozled Kevin Pietersen but the coach’s eyes spotted a big error even as the young Indian leggie was going through a purple patch in his tiny career. “I watched him playing in England and he seems to drift a lot of those deliveries into the legs of the right-handers, more like a flipper. You need your stock delivery to be the leg-break and have a command over it. He can get away on wickets like they have in England and India, where the ball will get a grip because of the surface, but not in Australia. He will be on-driven all the time,” he said.

“Most of the bowling action gets fortified when you attain this age but a few little things can be done differently and Chawla can get his leg-breaks going well. I don’t want to base all my opinions to just what I saw in England but he does seem to be a good investment for India, especially when Kumble nears his retirement,” he said.

O’Keefe paid tributes to Kumble as the Indian skipper neared his 600-wicket mark. “He’s been great right through, for all that talk that he wasn’t a proper leg-spinner. I am sure he has a great role to play even in this Perth Test,” he said.

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