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This story is from August 5, 2020

Looking forward to fielding drills with David Warner and Kane Williamson, says SRH fielding coach Biju George

Sunrisers Hyderabad's new fielding coach Biju George is looking forward to throwdowns and hitting the field with the likes of David Warner and Kane Williamson. "Warner and Williamson are legends of the game. I want to do my planned fielding drills with them. I am sure it will be fun. I have seen their fielding skills on the cricket ground. And I am eager to talk to them," Biju said.
Looking forward to fielding drills with David Warner and Kane Williamson, says SRH fielding coach Biju George
David Warner and Kane Williamson
NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad's new fielding coach Biju George has drawn up a list of things to pack along with his regular luggage as he looks ahead to meeting up with the rest of the team ahead of the 13th edition of the IPL in the UAE.
Side-arm thrower, catch bats, catching mitts, two pairs of shoes and some clothes are on his list. The IPL was scheduled to start on March 29 earlier this year but was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But after a long wait, the dates have been decided. IPL will now be taking place in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. The 53-day long tournament will be played across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
"I am so happy and excited for this big assignment. I have got decent experience as a fielding coach and want to use all in this assignment. I got a call from the SRH management and they have asked me to travel with the team. I am really thankful to the Sports Authority of India for helping me grow as a coach. They have supported me a lot. We are asked to assemble in Mumbai on August 23 for a flight to UAE. Before that we all will have to go through a COVID-19 test on August 21," Biju told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview.
Biju is looking forward to throwdowns and hitting the field with the likes of David Warner and Kane Williamson.
"Warner and Williamson are legends of the game. I want to do my planned fielding drills with them. I am sure it will be fun. I have seen their fielding skills on the cricket ground. And I am eager to talk to them. Warner and Williamson are not good fielders, they are great fielders. When I will meet Warner, I will say 'you are amazing boss. Keep doing what you're doing'. I am also looking forward to learning from Trevor Bayliss (SRH's head coach),
Brad Haddin (assistant coach), VVS Laxman (batting mentor) and Muttiah Muralitharan (bowling mentor)," Biju said.
"SRH have good fielders in the squad. I have worked with Manish Pandey before during the Duleep Trophy. He has got amazing fitness and he is an amazing guy too. I think Fabian Allen is the best fielder Sunrisers have right now. Warner and Pandey are the other two brilliant fielders. But Fabian has impressed me a lot. I have seen his videos of fielding sessions. He is just amazing," the 54-year-old told TimesofIndia.com.
MEETING THE 'KING OF SWING' AKRAM AT KKR
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This is not the first time Biju is associated with an IPL team. He was appointed as a cricket coordinator in the Kolkata Knight Riders outfit for the 2016 and 2017 season.
"Before joining as cricket coordinator with the KKR, I used to work as a talent scout with them. That time John Buchanan was the coach. KKR was like family for me. When you go to the dressing room or ground, you see legends like Jacques Kallis, Wasim Akram and Simon Katich alongside, it was an amazing feeling."
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"I am a very curious guy. I love to learn. I still remember I went to Wasim Akram during a net session a day before a match against KXIP and asked "Paaji, aap kaise dono tarah swing kar lete hain itne short run-up se (How do you manage to swing the ball both ways with a short run-up?),". He said bring me a ball. Colin Munro was on strike. He took a five-yard run-up and started making the ball dance. In swing, outswing, he bowled everything. I was amazed. The way he controls and handles the ball is unbelievable. That's why we all call him legend," Biju recalled.
BIJU - THE ENGINEER
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Before he became a cricket coach, Biju's parents wanted him to become an engineer. He was in the science stream and went on to hold a diploma in engineering. But all he wanted to do was become a cricket coach. One day, he sat with his parents and managed to convince them about his first love - cricket.
He enrolled himself in the cricket coaching diploma programme from the National Institute of Sports in 1990 and got his first posting at Jamnagar.
"I have a diploma in mechanical engineering. My life is like a crisscross. Every child who grows up in Kerala, the family wants them to be either a doctor, engineer and or an IAS officer. My family wanted me to be an engineer. They pushed me into engineering. They made me take the first group. The first group means mathematics, science and all. I struggled a lot in mathematics. This Sin, Cos and Trigonometry all went over my head during the academics. After completing my diploma in engineering, I did my diploma in cricket coaching from National Institute of Sports in 1990. I have been really passionate about cricket since childhood. And in 1992, I joined Sports Authority of India as a cricket coach," he said.
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"My first posting was Jamnagar. I was lucky enough to come across people in Jamnagar which is a hub of cricketing heroes. It's the birthplace of Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji. When I was in Jamnagar, Salim Durrani sir was there. I spent a lot of time with him. I considered myself lucky talking to a legend like him. He gave me a different perspective of the game," he said.
"When I did level 3 coaching with BCCI, we were given a probability. Why is this guy getting out LBW? Find out what is the technical fault and what is the biomechanical reason beyond that. Everything comes down to biomechanics. So, having a little background in mechanical helped me understand how forces work on equilibrium. All the things helped me a lot," the coach said.
WORKING WITH INDIAN WOMEN'S CRICKET TEAM
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Biju has served as a fielding coach of the Indian women's cricket team between 2017 and 2019. He was part of the management when India finished runner-up at the ICC World Cup in 2017 in England.
"When I was the fielding coach of the senior women team, Tushar Arothe was the head coach. I was really happy to work alongside legends like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. I still respect them so much for what they've contributed to women cricket. Their commitment, their work ethic, their dedication is amazing. When I got the chance to work with the women's team, I went to Jhulan and asked "Jhulan, can I have a photo with you please?" (laughs). I still have the photo with me," he said.
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Biju also termed Deepti Sharma as one of the best fielders the current Indian women cricket team has.
"Talking about the best fielder, you can't single out one. One fielder can be very good at cover, one can be very good at gully, the other one may be very good at slips. But if you look at the overall best fielder, in that World Cup was Deepti Sharma. She is amazing. To be a good fielder, you have to be a good student of the game," Biju said.
KOHLI, JADEJA, THE BEST FIELDERS IN THE WORLD
Biju picked Indian captain Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the best fielders in the world. He also called the duo attacking fielders.
"I will give you examples of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. They are so much in the game. They both can read a batsman's mind. They know where the batsman will hit the ball. They are attacking fielders. They both know a fraction of second earlier than other fielders that what will happen and where the ball will go. That's a difference between a good fielder and a great fielder," he said.
Biju's dream is to work closely and alongside India batting legend Rahul Dravid.
"I am unlucky that I never got the chance to work with him. I always tell him "Sir, when are you going to let me work with you"? I desperately want to work with him. Because I have seen him work with the India A team, Under-19 teams. He is not a person who will sit idle. He will go talk to players, continuously watch them at nets, do throw downs and help them in fielding. I want to work at least once in my life with him," Biju signed off.
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