JOIN USSudeep Tyagi, finding his way back
A place in the Chennai Super Kings squad. Sudeep Tyagi’s career poised to touch the skies like a jet in 2007. But the expected smooth take-off did not take place.
A combination of injury and loss of form pushed Tyagi to near oblivion, with the lone bright spot being the belief CSK retained in him. After a modest outing in the IPL II in South Africa, Tyagi got another chance to prove his worth when he was drafted into the India Emerging Players’ squad to tour Australia, and the lanky 21-year old utilised the chance to remind everyone of his abilities.
He was India’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament, grabbing 16 wickets from eight matches and Tyagi said he was a lot more confident after the performance Down Under.
“Obviously it was my tour to Australia. It was a good experience to bowl in Australian pitches as pitches there have a lot more bounce and pace than Indian wickets. If you are ready to put in that extra yard or two, you can be successful in those conditions. It was a really good learning experience and confidence booster for me. Now I hope to improve from this point,” Tyagi told Deccan Herald.
Tyagi’s outing in the second edition of the IPL (five wickets from eight matches) was nothing to gloat about, but the Ghaziabad lad said bowling in the South African pitches gave him a valuable lesson.
“Yes, I did not have a great outing in the IPL II, but it really helped me to understand the nuances of bowling in pitches with pace and bounce. I would say that the foundation of my success in Australia was laid in South Africa,” Tyagi noted. The youngster needed a guiding hand while going through a tough phase in the nascent stages of his career, and Tyagi credited Venkatesh Prasad, India and CSK bowling coach, for helping him keep his confidence high.
“Prasad sir was a great help when I was experiencing a turbulent period. It was tough on me because I was hoping to progress to the next level after a good debut season for UP. He is a superb motivator and his knowledge about the nuances of pace bowling is really amazing.
“Pace is my forte, and Prasad sir told me not to comprimise much on pace while teaching me the importance of adding more variations to my bowling. You cannot earn wickets in Indian pitches with just speed, but you need to learn to outhink batsmen with subtle variatons. I owe a lot to Prasad for bringing my career back on track,” he said.
Hopefully, Tyagi can add to the benchstrength of Indian pace bowling with a hectic season just round the corner.