New Delhi: Days into the job, new India coach Anil Kumble has already started charting out a roadmap to victory by not merely delving in technical aspects of the game. One of the key moves Kumble has taken is the reintroduction of a buddy system, one was first employed in Indian cricket by John Wright.
Talking about it, Stuart Binny told ESPNCricinfo, "It's about the senior guys communicating with the junior guys." It's probably the simplest way to define the concept, which is widely used in corporate world. It is believed to enhance communication between players and team members.
"Today we've paired up - each guy's paired with another guy; it's called a 'buddy programme'. So it's me and Rohit [Sharma] paired up together. Ro has played a lot of one-day cricket and Test cricket, and for me to share thoughts with him, that's the way forward, I think. If I can help Rohit by 2%, then maybe he can help me with 30% - that's what we're looking to do today. It's about helping each other through situations," Binny added.
"It's about me and Rohit communicating about our net sessions, about areas that I bowl [for example]. In the past, many guys held back because you didn't want to say something to upset another guy, but we've been pushed in a direction to communicate what we want, especially with our games. There's a lot you can learn from someone else, even by telling him that, I think this is the way forward. Communication is the key, I think. That's what we're trying to breed," the bowling all-rounder went on to explain.
Another Team India member Amit Mishra said, "My buddy is [Cheteshwar] Pujara - he bowls a bit of legspin; he can help me with my batting, and I can help with his legspin, so that whenever we might need it, he can bowl seven-eight overs for the team and help us."
It's revealed that during India's tour of Australia in 2001, Wright assigned a partner to each member of the team, usually pairing a batsman with a bowler. In one such arrangement, VVS Laxman became Zaheer Khan's unofficial batting coach, while Kumble himself was paired with a batsman or two.
