India will miss Shreyanka Patil, but Prema Rawat is equally exciting: India bowling coach

Here’s the full transcript of Aavishkar Salvi’s press conference for the India vs South Africa clash 

[Reporter:]

Two wins to start of the tournament, probably the biggest test yet. How does the team look forward to tomorrow’s game? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

I think it’s a good momentum to start off with. I mean, the way our preparations went out and to get those two wins under our belt, it was very important to get the game time as well. And Pakistan game was important, Netherlands game is also equally important. Because when you’re playing into a world stage tournament, all your league-based matches becomes equally important in terms of the points, in terms of the net run rate. So it was good to get those victories into the net.

[Reporter:]

Coach, just wanted to move that the unfortunate injury to Sriyanka now. She was a big part of your death bowling scheme of things and South Africa as a team, we have seen in the 50-over World Cup as well, they have power hitters in the death. So do you think that because Sriyanka is not there and both Prema and other options you have, like, they are not very death bowler specialist? So that is a kind of concern going into this game? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

First of all, it’s an unfortunate incident that Sriyanka got injured in the game and she’s out of the tournament. Secondly, in terms of our preparations, we prepare all of our bowlers in such a way that they are all phase bowlers. So as and when needed, we’ll play the cards. So whoever we are utilizing is— we’ll miss the services of Sriyanka for sure, but Prema is also an equally exciting talent. She has also done well in the kind of opportunity she has got in the past. In Australia series she did well, then in Rising Stars, Asia Cup Rising Stars, she did well over there as well. And kind of, I mean, the way she’s bowling, I think we all are pretty confident with the kind of potential she displays and in the camps also, we have worked alongside her. So she herself also is a— I mean, we can say an all-phase bowler for us. 

[Reporter:]

Could you shed some light on the decision to bring in Prema? What aspect of the squad building were you sort of trying to fill in with that, and what she brings to the table?

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

So with Prema, as I said earlier also, she’s an exciting talent, one. Second, as a leg spinner, she brings in different dimensions to the bowling unit. All together. And see, she has performed well also in the kind of opportunity she has got in the past, so she knows how to perform. And during our camps, when we were having our interactions with her and while we were actually putting her through the test, she came out successfully well then. So whenever you get into a World Cup, I mean, it’s a pool of players that you target. I mean, obviously you get in 15 players, but there are a pool of players whom you target. So, Prema was definitely into the scheme of things then, and today she gets an opportunity under a situation where no one thought about it, no one expected about it. But when such a situation happens, you have to choose the right option later on, and I thought Prema is the right option.

[Reporter:]

I am just wondering, in terms of conditions, the first match here that we saw between South Africa and Australia, it was quite slow. Are you expecting something similar? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

The kind of weather it is right now, I mean, we can’t expect that, but you know how the weather is. It keeps on changing. In England, every half an hour, every 15 minutes, the weather keeps on changing. The kind of behavior of the surface also keeps on changing. But yes, we have our basics covered up. We have the basics covered up and on the basis of that, obviously, we plan our bowling strategies to get into this game.

[Reporter:]

And is there anything you picked up from the South Africa series? I mean, obviously the conditions were very different. You played 3 games [inaudible] but is there anything you picked up from there that would be useful for tomorrow?

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

Yeah, actually those 5 games that we played in South Africa, I mean, taught us a lot. I mean, especially when you actually lost the series, you tend to reflect a lot into it and find out the grey areas where we need to crease up those. And I think as a bowling unit, as an entire group, like the leadership group as well as the bowling group, They are completely into it. They discussed a lot of stuff amongst themselves, with us, and they have come up with the conclusions that where we went wrong, and we have addressed that into the camps, we have addressed that into the practice sessions, and also into the practice warm-up games that we got an opportunity into. I thought on that front, everybody knows what went wrong, but everybody is equally charged to work on the grey area side. Come out comfortably. 

[Reporter:]

Tomorrow is obviously Harman’s 200th game in T20 Internationals. So everybody has seen her batting, but could you shed some light on how she works behind the scenes, on her longevity, fitness, obviously as age goes on, and her work ethics also to keep going at such a top level in international cricket?

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

I think Harman is a top-level athlete. I mean, she’s a role model for almost all the cricketers globally. I mean, the way she has conducted herself over the years, and she’s been a role model throughout. I mean, she’s been a performer, I mean, be it any format. And today, I mean, she’s playing her 200^th T20, that’s a big thing. And we all are as excited as you to watch her perform. And work ethics-wise, if you ask me, I mean, you might have— I mean, all must have seen it in the media’s she keeps on working on the basics. She keeps on, you know, talking about the game. She shares a lot of experience with the youngsters. So that also is a dimension where she comes in. She contributes into the—  obviously being a captain, she contributes, but then as a senior player also, she contributes with the younger generation where she passes on a lot of information, which is very useful. At times there is a lot of information available, but coming from someone who has performed so well at the highest level, those little minor points which she shares with the players, that actually helps boost the careers of a lot of youngsters.

[Reporter:]

So just to follow up on that, Harman has been a captain for a while, but this World Cup victory came after a while. Have you seen sort of an evolution— or a change in her in sort of a way after having fallen short of that final hurdle so many times, a change in her as the captain itself or just a gradual evolution since you have come here as part of the setup? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

See, being part of this ecosystem for the last 2 and a half years, what I have seen is this team is very hungry to perform wherever they go. Whichever tournament that we play, they are very hungry to perform and that goes same with all the players. I mean, whatever has happened in the past, we will not dwell too much into it. But what I have seen in the last 2 and a half years that I have spent time with these girls is they are very hungry to perform. I mean, even after achieving the World Cup victory in the one-day tournament, after that we had a Sri Lanka series, and before that we had a camp. And you should have seen the kind of efforts that these girls have put into that camp as well. Where they were pushing to their limits after achieving the World Cup trophy. So I think this team is very hungry, not just to perform but also to work hard and take their games to the different levels, is what I’ve seen. 

[Reporter:]

Any thoughts on the way Nandini Sharma has come along? She’s a genuinely exciting prospect and with a lot of wicket-taking abilities. So how much are you expecting from her going forward, and what makes her special? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

I think Nandini Sharma, she’s playing for India. Obviously she’s very special. She has those capabilities, she has her abilities across phases like powerplay, middle overs, slog, where she has her own strengths. And mentally I think she’s very strong, she’s very capable, she’s very calm and composed under pressure that we have seen in the kind of opportunities that she’s got at the international level. Also at the WPL level, if you have seen, you have followed her, she has performed at that level as well.  So I think she comes in with a lot of performance behind her back, and she looks very confident. And every day she’s— as I said earlier, this team, all the girls, they are looking to learn every day. They are hungry to perform, and they want to take their games to the next level. That is what I can say about Nandini Sharma. 

[Reporter:]

Coach, could you please throw a little bit of light on this, selection of Yastika on the last because Bharti played for the Pakistan game, then Yastika just replaced her. So if you can just talk about this game, like selection and maybe the change on the parallel. 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

I think every, every game that we get into, we get— we go with a fresh slate and we think about what’s, what’s going to offer onto the pitch, I mean, what’s going to be the opposition, and accordingly we choose our best 11. So basically it’s horses for courses that we focus upon. So there is not to look too much deep into why this player and why not that player. It’s about on that day what conditions required, what is the opposition strategy. Accordingly, we put in the player.

[Reporter:]

Can I just go back to Harman? I mean, I remember seeing her in South Africa and the half century she scored there really sort of showed a different side to her. She’s obviously very determined. Just what changed do you think in that series and in that moment for her? And I mean, she’s obviously got a lot of longevity left in her, but do you think there’s still more she can add to her game? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

Yeah, definitely. She’s a high-quality player. As I said, she’s like a role model to almost all the cricketers sitting across the globe. I mean, the way she performs, the way she lifts her game depending upon the situation— what situation demands something, she’s there to deliver. And she had delivered it for India, for whatever teams that she has played for.

For over— I mean, over a decade now. She’s like a legend, and I think she’s one of the best that we have also worked with in terms of work ethics. I mean, her involvement is just phenomenal, whatever slot we have. 

[Reporter:]

Has she spoken about the 2017 innings? I mean, it seems like a lifetime ago, but that’s really what put her on the map. And do some of your younger girls sort of say to her, we watched that and it made us want to play? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

Yeah, actually I have seen a lot of girls discuss these things with Harman, and she came out with what was her thought process that day, what was her mindset that day. And then she’s been sharing her experiences, not just that one inning, but many innings that she has played. And if girls go up to her and check with her what was the mindset and what should we— we take a leaf out of it. So she’s always there to suggest them and help them to go to the next level. 

[Reporter:]

Radha Yadav is yet to get a game. She last played in the warm-ups. If she does slot in as the second left-arm spinner, how ready is she? I saw her batting a lot, a lot of range hitting she did yesterday and today as well. So what might she bring? How hungry she is? And you’ve worked so extensively with her, [inaudible] she was during the World Cup as well. So talk us through Radha’s potential contribution to a big match fixture like this one. 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

I mean, we all know that the kind of quality Radha brings to the to this bowling unit. I mean, it’s only a matter of getting an opportunity. The kind of opportunity she has got on this tour, she has performed over there. It’s just the team combination that we are looking up into. She adds a different dynamics when it comes to fielding. When it comes to batting as well, she’s a contributor. So I think Radha Yadav brings a lot of positives to the side. It’s only a matter of getting that opportunity. She gets that opportunity, we are very confident that she performed this kind of potential she has. Work ethic she’s showing and the way she is practicing each and every day and taking those practice sessions in a way where she’s developing session by session. So that’s something which is very positive about her. 

[Reporter:]

And a particular kind of delivery that we do not see often in women’s cricket— there are only so many exponents who have really excelled in it— but Nandini Sharma comes with that, the bounce serve. Can you talk us through that? How do you look to work with her on that and what your inputs are being a former fast bowler yourself?

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

So again, I would say that, for any fast bowler, bouncer, or any bowler, bouncer is a very [inaudible]. I mean, it has to be in the right area at the right time with the right field sets. I think she’s utilizing it as her weapon, and she has utilized it in the past as well. I mean, now what we have seen in the last game, she got the wicket of the Netherlands captain. I thought that was, that was a I mean, that was a beautiful ploy that she had to keep across her when she bowled that ball. I think she’s been working on that aspect. I mean, it’s— if you go down to the camps where you might have covered the camps also, during the skill sessions, they were— I mean, she was working on the kind of height that she has to get for that bounce, the kind of length she has to exploit while moving the bouncer. And that is how she has been working on a lot of technicalities behind the scenes. But now when we see the actual product, we all are so happy and we also believe that she’s getting more wickets as well. 

[Reporter:]

How important was that 100 partnership between Smriti and Shafali in the last game for the team going ahead?

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

It was very important. I mean, you know, whenever we start a T20 game, the starts are the most important thing, as well as the finishes, are the most important thing. But the way they started off and the kind of, runs they generated in those— I mean, that at a high run rate that they scored those runs, I think it will add a lot of positives into the batting unit as a group. I mean, as a group, you always want to succeed in whichever phases that we bat or we bowl. I thought they both contributed immensely, and the kind of shots that they played that was superb. I mean, just have a look at those videos. You feel that if you are having so much talent alongside you, you feel so blessed, you feel so privileged.

[Reporter:]

My question was, how is it going to help with the team’s campaign going forward? They’ve been batting together for a long time but haven’t had that kind of success in recent times in the England series as well. So getting that 100 partnership now, do you think that is going to help India going forward in this campaign? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

Yeah, it will definitely go to him because you know how deep she plays. I mean, there are a lot of risks involved into the batting or the bowling, and the margin for error is very less. So at times, I mean, if they are— I mean, now that they have got the runs for so many years and now that they have clicked it against the Netherlands game with this star-rated partnership, it’s going to definitely help the team’s balance all together. 

[Reporter:]

Is there any concern with the number of 5 spot. Like, it’s been tried. Of course, Yastika has done well in the powerplays. After the powerplays, it just sort of goes off. Bharti didn’t play in the Pakistan game. That spot is not getting sealed. What are you really looking at from these two players who are in contention for that spot? And what is your assessment being from the nets that have happened? 

[Aavishkar Salvi:]

We’ll see. There are a lot of talks going on. I mean, the whole role identification has been done. I mean, it’s not about the number, it’s about the position, it’s about the situation. If the situation demands someone to play aggressively, they will play aggressively. I mean, it’s not about a particular number 4 or number 5 or number 6, it’s about the situation that they get into while they are in a T20 game. If the situation demands they have to score at a brisk rate, they will deliver it because they have practiced it. If the situation demands that they have to change the gears and they have to consolidate our position at that stage in time, they are up for it because they have practiced that into the camps, in the simulations that we went through, into the warm-up games that we went through. So it started off long back. So right now everybody is clear with their roles. It’s only a matter of getting that opportunity, handling that situation well to the best of their abilities. And I mean, most of the times they have been successful. Yeah, there will be times where while taking risks, someone might fail, but that’s okay to fail because as long as the process is right, as long as the intentions are right, I think we are in the right direction.