“I told Vignesh and his parents that he needs to stay grounded. With success comes stardom, but a cricketer’s career can also end in a couple of years
Mumbai Indians’ spinner Vignesh Puthur during his 3-32 in his IPL debut match v Chennai Super Kings at Chennai recently. Pic/AFP
Mumbai Indians’ young left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur’s first coach CG Vijayakumar wants his ward to remain grounded and handle the pressure of expectations by staying focussed.
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In his debut IPL game against Chennai Super Kings on March 23, Puthur, 24, impressed, claiming 3-32 at Chennai. He dismissed CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda. In MI’s second match against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad on Friday though Puthur was benched. Coach Vijayakumar has advised Puthur not to lose focus due to these ups and downs.
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CG Vijayakumar
“I told Vignesh and his parents that he needs to stay grounded. With success comes stardom, but a cricketer’s career can also end in a couple of years. A classic example is [former India spinner] Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who began his career taking 12 wickets in a Test against England at the Wankhede Stadium [in 1984], but in a few years’ time he was nowhere. He actually demolished the [David Gower-led] English side in that Test, but what happened after that? The same happened with players like [former India batter] Vinod Kambli and currently [India batter] Prithvi Shaw, who started their career on high notes. That’s why Vignesh has to maintain that balance,” Vijayakumar, 56, told mid-day from his academy in Perinthalmanna, Kerala, on Sunday.
Puthur was just 10 when he started practising under Vijayakumar’s academy. When asked if he was surprised to see Puthur excel in his first IPL match, Vijayakumar replied in the negative. “Not at all. But over-expectations can also spoil a player. Vignesh will have to focus on the job at hand. He cannot get three, four or five wickets every day, so he should aim for the best economy rate. I’m glad Vignesh has the best franchise [MI] in the world to take care of him,” added Vijayakumar, who assisted renowned Mumbai-based coach late Vasu Paranjape during a 35-day camp at Muscat, in Oman in 2004.
Vijayakumar credited Paranjape for Puthur’s progress. “Vasu sir had this great energy. Every over he would raise his voice and tell the bowlers, ‘Toss the ball up to the batsman. Whether it’s Viv Richards or Sunil Gavaskar, you should have the courage to make him play on the front foot. Toss the ball above the eye level of the batsman.’ I learnt a lot from Vasu sir and follow the same techniques employed by him. I keep telling Vignesh and all my spinners to toss it up,” concluded Vijayakumar.
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