New Delhi: With cricket evolving at a rapid pace and batsmen clearing the ropes with ease, the role of throw-down specialists in any T20 set-up is gaining in importance. This not only prepares the batsmen for fast pace music but also allows them to fine tune a particular shot by getting repetitions that would not be possible for a regular bowler.It’s common these days to see support staff members with giant baseball gloves and robotic arms at every practice session. During international assignments, there is a specific throw-down net for batsmen to practice skill and repetition. In an IPL setup, it’s more about coming in volume.
As it is 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 with unique skill sets and different stories, but one ambition: to fire the speed gun.Aniket Barde
Aniket Burde belongs to Kalyan, Mumbai. (Photo by Special Arrangement)
Aniket Barde, 35, hails from Kalyan, Mumbai, where he used to play club cricket before joining Parveen Amre’s academy in 2013.What makes Birde unique is that he is biased. He writes and fields left-handed but bats and bowls right-handed.“Initially, I was a right-handed bowler. So, I bowled with my right hand. But many people are throwing right-handed throwdowns. What makes me unique is that I am a right-handed bowler, but I throw with my left hand. So, I started throwing slowly with my left hand. Now, I can throw with both hands,” he told reporters on the sidelines of DC’s net session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.On that journey, he threw only right-handed throws until 2016. After that, he spent two years improving his left-handed skills. The side arm tool took some getting used to. “Earlier, we used to bowl with our hands; we didn’t have a side arm. But, as soon as I got a side arm, I started learning to bowl with it. Then, one day, I saw Raghu bowling with an Ajinkya (releasing) head. After that I started bowling with my right hand.“Earlier, I started sidearm bowling with my right hand. Slowly, I progressed to it. Slowly, I started with my left hand as well. So, when I tried with my left hand, I was told I can continue. Now, I can mostly bowl with my left hand,” he explained.Burde’s foray into cricket started late. He was 18 when he was introduced to the game and did not immediately get many opportunities. It was then that he took the pragmatic decision to coach while playing to keep his playing options open.With playing opportunities diminishing with age, he embraced the growing trend of throw-down specialists and sidearm specialists. He has been with Delhi Capitals for a year and spent three seasons with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.Darshan
Darshan hails from Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo by Special Arrangement)
Darshan is the most experienced of the three throw-down specialists in DC’s fold. He joined the set-up eight years ago, having previously played at the Under-16 and Under-19 levels in Jammu and Kashmir.His first foray into the capital as a cricketer came around 2012, before a serious back injury curtailed his journey in 2014. Two years later, he focused on coaching and being a throw-down specialist.Darshan, 32, hails from Ramban district — about 150 km from Jammu. After the end of his playing years, he practiced and worked at the famous Sonnet Club in Delhi. In 2016, Delhi Capitals opened its doors.Asked what makes a good throwdown specialist, Darshan explained that it’s not speed. “It doesn’t matter whether you bowl 150 or 160 kmpg. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how many balls you are bowling in a good length area, how much inswing and outswing you get if you bowl a red ball. Or if you bowl with the white ball you get more yorkers. It matters more what you bowl,” explained Darshan.Apart from IPL, Darshan has worked in ILT20 (with Dubai Capitals), Legends League, Asia Cup and J&K domestic team. “In 2021, I worked with the Jammu and Kashmir team for two years, the team was doing well even then. We were playing a lot of tournaments in the off-season.“We were going abroad to play cricket. The problem with Jammu and Kashmir is that there is very little club cricket there. More meetings are cricket. It will be better if club cricket comes. There are more bowlers because they play on mats. If you play on astro (turf) it will be better. There’s good talent there.”Sai Pandem
Saipandam belongs to Manikonda district of Telangana. (Photo by Special Arrangement)
Saipandam began speaking to the huddled reporters before casually stepping aside and urging his colleagues to respond first. Hailing from Manikonda district of Telangana, Pandam is only five feet tall. Still, that didn’t stop him from following his passion.His ‘push’ to become a side-arm and throw-down specialist came after corruption took away his playing career as an off-spinner. When he started working as a side-arm specialist in Hyderabad’s Adnan Cricket Academy in 2021 at the insistence of his friend Ganesh, the learning curve was steep.“He (Aden) told me I have a lot of talent, you can do it, you can go to the top level. I started from there.“After a month, I started feeling pain in my shoulders. At one point, I thought I would give up sidearm (coaching). He told me nothing would happen. He told me that’s how it starts. He told me that if I get used to it, I won’t have any problems. “After that, I got a chance to practice the players. I didn’t want money. I just wanted an opportunity. I was waiting for this opportunity.”The occasion came during one such camp when he was spotted by DC Head Coach Hemang Badani, DC Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, former India stumper Wriddhiman Saha and GMR Group’s Rocher Grandhi.Since then, he has had multiple ILT20 campaigns, IPL seasons and Legends Cricket League in three years with GMR Sports fold.
