Mohnish's bowling action good: Gaekwad

VADODARA: "Hit the tennis ball placed on the wicket and you can go back to Ahmedabad right away," Gujarat Cricket Association's (GCA) chief consultant Anshuman Gaekwad told off-spinner Mohnish Parmar at the nets in Alembic Ground on Wednesday. And much to Gaekwad's delight, Parmar did hit the ball after bowling a few deliveries on the cement pitch.
Gujarat team's star bowler Parmar, who was sidelined earlier this year after being reported for suspect action, was in the city for two days along with Gaekwad.The offie bowled for about three hours in the nets on Wednesday while Gaekwad watched his action closely. "He is bowling well and his action is pretty good now. I have been working on his action and run-up since the day I joined GCA a few weeks ago. He has improved a lot," Gaekwad told TOI.
Parmar was recently called by umpires for suspect action during an Under-22 match against Jharkhand. However, he was selected in Gujarat team for BCCI's ongoing T20 tournament at Pune. But, Gaekwad asked Parmar to stay back and work on his bowling action. "I wanted him to improve on his action and also regain his accuracy so that he can bowl well in Ranji matches. Parmar readily agreed for it," added Gaekwad, who was in the city to watch Gujarat's U-19 match against Saurashtra.
"I asked Parmar to come to Vadodara so that I can watch the matches and work on his action too," Gaekwad said. Parmar had also visited the National Cricket Academy (NCA) earlier this year for correcting his action. "But, at NCA he was asked to bowl with round arm so that he doesn't bend his bowling arm. It was not an effective solution. I asked him to straighten his run up and not bend his body while releasing the ball. I also suggested him to keep his wrist position straight while holding the ball," Gaekwad explained.
"I was very comfortable with the suggestions I got from Gaekwad, hence I started working on them. Now, I don't have to make any more efforts while bowling and there is no strain on arms and shoulders while releasing the ball," said Parmar whose action was once compared with Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
"Now, he runs up straight, doesn't bend, keeps his wrist straighter and bowls effortlessly. I am hopeful that he will bowl properly in the Ranji matches. I want him to pick up five wickets in the first Ranji match," smiled Gaekwad.
tushar.tere@timesgroup.com