Cricket’s human machines: Meet Delhi Capitals’ unsung heroes | Cricket News – The Times of India
New Delhi: With cricket evolving at a rapid pace and batters clearing the ropes with monstrous ease, the role of throwdown specialists continues to get a lot of importance in any T20 set-up at the moment. It not only prepares batters for high-speed music but also allows them to fine-tune a particular shot by getting the repetitions which wouldn’t have been possible with a regular bowler.It’s a common sight these days to see support staff members with a big baseball glove and the robo-arm at every practice session. During international assignments, there’s a dedicated throwdown net for batters to do the skill and repetition work; in an IPL set-up, it’s more about getting in the volume.
Since it’s humanly impossible for bowlers to replicate match-day intensity in the nets, throwdown specialists have become the heartbeat of every team’s preparation. IPL franchise Delhi Capitals have three specialists at their disposal who have unique skill sets and different storylines, but the same desire: to set the speed guns on fire.Aniket Berde
Aniket Berde hails from Kalyan in Mumbai. (Photo by special arrangement)
35-year-old Aniket Berde comes from Kalyan in Mumbai, where he used to play club cricket before joining Praveen Amre’s academy in 2013. At the academy, he’s bowled to the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Shreyas Iyer, Shams Mulani, and Aakarshit Gomel.What makes Berde unique is that he’s ambidextrous. He writes and fields with his left hand but bats and bowls with his right hand.“In the beginning, I was a right-arm bowler. So, I used to bowl with my right hand. But a lot of people are doing right-arm throwdowns. What makes me unique is that I’m a right-hand bowler, but I throw with my left hand. So, I started doing throwdowns with my left hand slowly. Now, I can throw with both hands,” he told reporters on the sidelines of DC’s nets session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.In this journey, he used to do right-hand-only throwdowns until 2016. After that, he spent two years improving his left-hand proficiency. The sidearm tool took some getting used to. “Earlier, we used to bowl with our hands; we did not have a sidearm. But, as I got a sidearm, I started learning how to bowl with it. Then, one day, I saw Raghu bowling with Ajinkya (Rahane) sir. After that, I started bowling with my right hand.“First, I started with my right hand to bowl with a sidearm. Little by little, I developed that. Gradually, I started with my left hand as well. So, when I tried with my left hand, I was told that I could continue. Now, I mostly bowl with my left hand,” he explained.Berde’s foray into cricket started late. He was 18 when he was introduced to the sport and didn’t get many opportunities straightaway. It was then that he took the practical decision of coaching while playing to keep his playing options open.With playing chances dwindling with age, he embraced the growing trend of throwdown specialists and sidearm experts. He has been with the Delhi Capitals for a year and has spent three seasons with the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.Darshan
Darshan comes from Ramban district in Jammu & Kashmir. (Photo by special arrangement)
Darshan is the most experienced of the three throwdown specialists in DC’s fold. He joined the setup eight years ago, having earlier played at the U-16 and U-19 levels in Jammu & Kashmir.His first foray to the capital as a cricketer came around 2012, before a serious back injury in 2014 halted his journey. Two years later, he switched focus entirely to coaching and being a throwdown specialist.Darshan, 32, comes from Ramban district — nearly 150 kms from Jammu. After the end of his playing years, he practised and worked at the famed Sonnet Club in Delhi. In 2016, doors to the Delhi Capitals opened.When asked what makes for a good throwdown specialist, Darshan explained that it is not the pace. “It doesn’t matter if you bowl 150 or 160 kmpg. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how many balls you’re bowling into a good length area, how much in-swing and out-swing you get if you bowl a red ball. Or if you bowl with a white ball, you get more yorkers. It matters more what you bowl,” explained Darshan.Beyond the IPL, Darshan has worked in the ILT20 (with the Dubai Capitals), Legends League, Asia Cup and the J&K domestic team. “In 2021, I worked with the J&K team for two years. The team was doing well then also. We were playing a lot of tournaments in the off-season.“We were going abroad to play cricket. The problem with J&K is that there is little club cricket. There is more matting cricket. If club cricket comes, it will be better. There are more bowlers because they play on the mat. If you play on the astro(turf), it will be better. There is good talent there.”Sai Pendam
Sai Pendam comes from Manikonda district in Telangana. (Photo by special arrangement)
Sai Pendam started to speak to the huddled reporters before sheepishly side-stepping and urging his colleagues to answer first. Hailing from Manikonda district in Telangana, Pendam is just about five feet tall. Yet, that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion.His ‘push’ into becoming a sidearm and throwdown specialist came after corruption snatched his playing career as an off-spinner. When he started as a sidearm specialist in 2021 at the Adnan Cricket Academy in Hyderabad, on the insistence of his friend Ganesh, the learning curve was stiff.“He (Adan) told me that I have a lot of talent. You can do it. You can go to a higher level. I started from there.“After a month, I started feeling pain in my shoulders. At one time, I thought that I will leave sidearm (coaching). He told me that nothing would happen. He told me that this is how it starts. He told me that if I get used to it, I won’t have any problems. “After that, I got the chance to make players practise. I didn’t want money. I just wanted a chance. I was waiting for that chance.”That chance came during one such camp when he was spotted by DC head coach Hemang Badani, DC Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, ex-India stumper Wriddhiman Saha and GMR Group’s Ruchir Grandhi.Ever since, he’s done multiple ILT20 campaigns, IPL seasons and the Legends Cricket League in the three years with the GMR Sports fold.
