Jeff Thomson to train Indian fast bowlers in Brisbane

Four rising young fast bowlers from India have been chosen to hone their skills with Australian fast bowling legend Jeff Thompson.

Karnataka’s young pacers David Mathias, Prasidh Krishna along with Mumbai’s Tushar Deshpande and Minad Manjrekar are the four bowlers picked for a three-week training programme at the Centre of Excellence, Brisbane.

The four players are a part of the IDBI Federal-KSCA Bowling Foundation and will train under Australian pace legend Jeff Thomson, who is also the head coach of the foundation.

Speaking on training youngsters, Thomson said: “I’m no David Copperfield or a magician. I show them what to do and then it’s their hard work. I have seen noticeable difference in them since the last time I was here.

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They have all improved and everything that needs to be there is there. What we do with the kids is to make them ready for any challenge. Cricket is a hard game these days and I think they have to be tougher than in my days, we were pretty tough ourselves. We didn’t get much back then but if these guys can make it then they are well rewarded and that’s a good incentive.”

The foundation, which began its operations in Bengaluru in February this year, has been training both pacers and spinners.

Prasidh believes the stint Down Under will prepare him to mature as a player. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a preparation to get into the next level of cricket or whatever you want to play in future. I see it as a good period to learn.”

Talking about the influence on Thomson, who is on his second visit to the city, the 20-year-old said: “Jeff asked us to believe in ourselves no matter what. Technically my left arm was coming in between my face and blocking my view, he’s helped me rectify that. The swing has improved with better action and pace has improved as well.”