Hyderabad’s Diliep, Harrsha in Dravid’s team for Sri Lanka tour
For Diliep, this new appointment is recognition for his fine work as fielding coach for the India A team in recent times.
Hyderabad: Although all may not seem well in the Hyderabad Cricket Association, there is something to cheer about. With R Sridhar and D Girish, both from the city, already playing their roles as fielding coach and manager of the Indian team in England, the Shikhar Dhawan-led team will have two Hyderabadis – TK Diliep (fielding coach) and AI Harrsha (strength and conditioning coach) – in the support staff that will tour Sri Lanka for the one-day and T20 series. The Rahul Dravid-coached Indian team is presently undergoing the 14-day quarantine in Mumbai before leaving for Sri Lanka for the July series.
For Diliep it is another opportunity to make a mark in the Indian team. This new appointment is recognition for his fine work as fielding coach for the India A team in recent times. He last toured with India A team to New Zealand in January 2020. Being part of Dravid’s support staff is indeed a credible achievement for Diliep. This assignment will give the 39-year-old coach an opportunity to work with elite players like Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and others.
Starting his career as a bowling all-rounder Diliep represented Cheerful, New Blues and Deccan Chargers in A-Division local leagues. However, he took to coaching from a young age and passed the level 1 examination in 2004. He has a passion for coaching and got the first chance to showcase his talent when he was made the Hyderabad under-14 team.
However, the big break came for Diliep when he worked as fielding coach for the now defunct Deccan Chargers under Trevor Penny in IPL. Since then he never looked back. He was the coach of Hyderabad Ranji team and then got a big opportunity when he was appointed fielding coach for India A team against the visiting South Africa which played Test and one-day series two years ago.
Diliep has been working on various fielding drills. He felt that fielding has become an integral part of a cricket team. “We have our own marks while assessing a player as a fielder. We take various parameters, like catch conversations, number of runs saved or run outs. It is basically not to point out mistakes but the areas where we can improve a player as a fielder,” he said before the New Zealand tour.
Thirty-one-year-old Harrsha, too, has been making steady progress as strength and conditioning coach. This is will be his major second assignment with the Indian team after he had a short stint during the three-match T20 series against New Zealand in 2019.
This former Hyderabad off-spinner, a product of St Andrew’s High School, has been part of the Dravid-led National Cricket Academy support staff in Bengaluru. He also had a stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
John Manoj, vice president of HCA, said it is a fine opening for Harrsha to tour with the Indian team. “As a player he was troubled by injuries before he decided to retire from the game and become strength and conditioning coach. He has now made his mark in this role,” said Manoj.
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