The MRF Pace Academy may have shut shop for now but its former coach TA Sekar and chief consultant Dennis Lillee — now part of the Delhi Daredevils camp — are reaping their share of benefits.As vice-president of GMR Sports, Sekar along with Lillee is enjoying the good fortune of having under them a few names they once coached and are now stars for their respective countries — Sri Lanka’s Farveez Maharoof, Australia’s Brett Geeves and Chennai’s Yo Mahesh being some of them.Sekar, who played an important role in deciding the kind of players selected for Delhi during the auction, was sure about the attack he wanted. “We were looking for intelligence more than anything else. We wanted bowlers who could make use of the conditions and churn out the best,” says Sekar.And, he is happy that while his bowling attack is being led by none other than Glenn McGrath, his new-ball partner happens to be another former MRF student — Mohammad Asif.In Sekar’s opinion (and the coach insists that it could be Lillee’s opinion too), Asif is easily one of the most talented bowlers at the moment. “Not just for his talent but also because he is a bowler who thinks a lot,” he says. For years, the MRF academy had failed to find favour within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), despite the numerous fast bowlers who successfully trained there. While Lillee says that he’ll continue to work as MRF consultant, Sekar is now concentrating fully on the Delhi team.Lethal combinationThe way his bowling attack has performed so far, it can easily boast of being one of the most lethal combinations in the tournament. On Wednesday, for example, when Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to bat first, McGrath and Asif played the ‘hunting-in-pairs’ style to perfection.McGrath stifled the batsmen, frustrating them, and Asif took optimum advantage by plucking two big wickets — of Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman — in the very first over. At the end of the fifth over, Deccan were tottering at 23 for two. In fact, such had been Asif’s control that both the batsmen were bowled out to deliveries that swished in from outside the off stump. “We have a good set of batsmen who’re very valuable in this (T20) format,” says Sekar, suggesting that it was important they choose the right set of bowlers to compliment the combination.In Delhi’s opening match against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, Asif had been missing. But even in that game, McGrath’s opening spell had propelled the rest of the attack, including Geeves and Maharoof, to come up with an impressive display. Maharoof, in fact, riding on McGrath’s opening spell, gave away just 2.75 runs per over in that match.“The economy rate is always the key. If the run-scoring can be curbed, there is a chance of batsmen facing the pressure,” said Delhi captain Virender Sehwag before the match against Deccan.Now, with Asif scheduled to play all the matches alongside McGrath, Sekar is more than happy to note that his bowling will continue on a stronger line and length. “If the bowlers can do their bit then the pressure on batsmen will naturally be lesser,” says Sekar.
