'Heavy bat' big problem for Indian cricket: Chappell

Bangalore, Mar 13 (UNI) The biggest problem of cricket, particularly while playing in India, is the heavy bat, which comes in the way of development of the game in the country, Former Indian coach Greg Chappell said today.

Talking to newspersons here, the former Australian legend said the heavy bat has a huge effect on the ability to move the body and manipulate it to get it to stop and control it. It has a huge impact on grip as well.

Stating that the biggest handicap to learn batting in India is heavy bat. ''If you don't learn the correct things early, it is very hard to change to the lighter bat'', he added.

Of late, there is a decrease in the bowling talent so the development process is very important. It should be good as we have to be better at developing talent because we cannot afford to wait, we have to accelerate the learning process, he added.

He said most of the talent is in rural areas. ''If we concentrate more on Metros, we are going to miss natural talent available in rural areas. It is easy to teach the wards in rural areas'', he observed.

He said cricket is going through a great change at the moment, the cricket of the future will be different from the cricket in the past. Future cricketers would be athletic, able to withstand lot of stress both physically and mentally and even emotionally.

''The game in the future will demand more from this generation than ever before especially fielding and running between the wickets, which were a neglected part of the past'' , Chappell said.

Cricket is going to be faster. Only people who like to be in the spotlight and those who enjoy pressure can only succeed, he stressed.

To a question, he said ''cricket is a thinking game. It is about understanding the pattern, planning, preparing, working as a team, solving puzzles and thinking outside the square.'' The best team is one which is going to improve and go on improving. A team is never a finished article, bringing in new energy. If you are not energising the team, it is going to be returning to be a square one, he added.

Chappell, who is also Director Cricket Star and Rajasthan Cricket Academy, was here on a talent hunt launched by 'Emerging Media', the owners of the Jaipur IPL team-Rajasthan Royals. This was the second in the series of nationwide talent hunt focused on discovering the next Twenty20 cricketer of India.

He said among the total 500 boys who are participating in the camp held since last two days, eight have been picked up. ''We are looking for extraordinary talent to groom them and make them worthy.'' UNI MSP GKT AB RN1711