Focus was on bowling a lot of dot balls: Hemchudeshan

Salem J. Hemchudeshan discusses his focus on bowling dot balls and his impressive rise in Tamil Nadu cricket.

J. Hemchudeshan has long been identified as a prodigious talent in Tamil Nadu. He has rapidly risen through the ranks — from under-16 to under-19 and into the senior team over the last three years.

The off-spinner played a key role in Tamil Nadu’s Cooch Behar Trophy (under-19) triumph last year, finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 47 scalps.

His performance prompted the selectors to fast-track him into the senior set-up this year and, on Friday, in just his second First Class appearance, he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul against Baroda.

The 17-year-old from Tiruchi possesses a clean, classical action and relies heavily on accuracy in line and length, which he showed consistently over the first two days here.

“We wanted to keep it tight and not get desperate. The focus was on bowling a lot of dot balls,” Hemchudeshan said about his approach.

“I got good support from Sai Kishore at the other end. He kept bowling maidens, which helped me pick up the two set batters today.”