One thing every Indian kid can vouch for is maa ke haath ka khaana. Regardless of you getting the most sumptuous aloo paratha or a bowl full of burnt daal chawal, the extra garnish of love is enough to put takeaway restaurants to bankruptcy. The sheer variety of dishes on offer makes you want to never leave the dining table. Whether it’s the finger licking goodness or you mentally switching from Surya to the King on the centrefield, the importance of variation cannot be discounted.
In a recent edition of the Indian franchise league, a top order international batter from the States was prepping himself during the pre season more than an engineering student during placement season. He could already fantasize playing the innings of his life and achieving worldwide fame, and eventually fulfilling his dream of marrying a desi girl like it’s a scene from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. As the tournament progressed, he displayed his versatility in playing different kinds of shots like it was your dad finding 20 different ways to use an old newspaper. But soon enough, his indispensable need for variation turned out to be his kryptonite. Slowly but surely, it seemed like the blanks he fired shooting his shots at random girls in bars showed more potential than his shots on a cricket pitch.
Also Read : Cricket IQ: The Importance of Bat-Lift
This recent dip in form was studied by his coaching staff. Turns out, catalyst in this downward trend was the variation in his bat-lift angle. While this variation did make him more versatile in playing different kinds of shots, the level of variation proved to be higher than Bob Marley on a Tuesday evening. Stats from the following training sessions showed his bat-lift angle to vary from 31 degrees to 47 degrees, which caused his bat speed to vary between 107-115 kmph. His coach advised him to decrease the lift variation to 41 or 42 degrees, which caused his bat speed to skyrocket 122 kmph in the space of 10 days.
Our American batter learned that too much variation can turn your innings from a blockbuster Bollywood hit to a B-grade flop faster than your mom’s perception of catching you smoking a cigarette (turns out you’re not the raja beta she thought you were). The horizontal bat lift has its merits - but go overboard, and you might as well be trying to play gully cricket with a chappal. Our hero's journey from varying his angles more wildly than your girl best friend’s mood swings to finding his ideal bat-lift variation is a lesson for us all. So, next time you're at the crease, remember: a little variation is like the perfect masala in your chai, but too much, and you'll be caught out faster than someone swiping left on your Tinder profile.
