Azharuddin prefers more players than support staff

Hyderabad: Coming under fire for picking a jumbo team of 25 players instead of the stipulated 20 for the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, Hyderabad Cricket Association president Mohammed Azharuddin clarified that he felt that there should be more players in the team than support staff. “I want to promote cricketers. I don’t want extra […]

Hyderabad: Coming under fire for picking a jumbo team of 25 players instead of the stipulated 20 for the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, Hyderabad Cricket Association president Mohammed Azharuddin clarified that he felt that there should be more players in the team than support staff.

“I want to promote cricketers. I don’t want extra supporting staff. I believe in preparing for a match before leaving for the tournament venue. Nowadays, players practice too much before any match. I don’t think it is necessary. It is all about being mentally and physically fit for a match. You have to be fresh before any match.

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“Other day I was having a discussion with a former player, he also felt the same way. He too agreed that players should be in a relaxed frame of mind before any match. So I told the boys to be fresh. I don’t want a player get tired before any match. Simple knocking and a few overs at the nets would be sufficient,” said the former Indian captain on Friday.

Asked about a few controversial selections, Azharuddin said the ad-hoc selection committee will learn from the mistakes. “But for the first time I ensured that the players who are useful in shorter formats should be selected for the T20 tournament. I only tell the selectors what is good and what is bad. I only visit the nets and try to rectify the player’s mistakes. Of course, if I see a good player, I recommend his name to the selectors.”

Azharuddin said it is time to perform. He gave a simple message of perform or perish. “If you don’t perform, you can’t continue to stay in the team.”

On captaincy issue, Azharuddin said Tanmay Agarwal will learn from his mistakes. He welcomed G Hanuma Vihari back to Hyderabad team. “I’m glad Vihari has come back to Hyderabad. At first instance why did he go to Andhra, I don’t know. It is nice to see he will play for Hyderabad.”

Team: Tanmay Agarwal (captain), N Thakur Tilak Varma, Hanuma Vihari, K Rohit Rayudu, B Sandeep, Mohammed Siraj, Himalay Agarwal, C V Milind, Rahul Buddhi, T Ravi Teja, M Sai Pragnay Reddy (wk), Kolla Sumanth (wk), Mohammed Afreedi, Rathan Teja, Tanay Thyagarajan, Syed Mehdi Hasan, Abdul Ela Al Quraishi, Rakshann Reddii, G Ajay Dev Goud, E Sankeet, Chandan Sahani, Trishank Gupta, Alankrit Agarwal, P Nitesh Reddy, HK Simha.

Supporting staff: M Sailesh Kumar (Manager); Milaap Mewada (coach); K Santosh (physio), Kanneskk Naidu (Trainer); Md Sajid Hussian (masseur).

Who is Afreedi?

In the 25-member team there is a new face in Mohammed Afreedi. This 23-year-old was a big success story in a tournament conducted in Siddipet. He caught the attention with his big-hitting abilities and was selected to play for Combined Districts in the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Tiger Cup T20 tournament.

Playing in the Tiger Cup, he struck the highest numbers of sixes with 16 followed by Sai Pragnay Reddy (14) and Chandan Sahani (10) in the top three.
“Afreedi played very well in the T20. He is a hard-hitting batsman and a specialist in T20 cricket,’’ said Azharuddin.

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