India U-19 team to be groomed to handle pressure

BANGALORE: Indian U-19 team coach Bharath Arun admitted that the defending champions tag will weigh heavily on the team’s shoulders but insisted that they have planed a series of tasks to prepare the players ahead of the U-19 World Cup, starting in UAE from Feb 15.
The 16-day camp, which started at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday, will lay emphasis on mental conditioning and train players to play in pressure situations.That apart, the boys will under go an interactive session when they travel to Waynad forest for a two-day boot camp on Jan 24 and 25.
"We have planned the boot-camp in a non-cricketing atmosphere to develop more interaction amongst players and between players and the support staff. Basically we want to teach players how to handle pressure in unforeseen circumstances," said Arun, who had guided the team to World Cup triumph in 2012.
"The onus of this camp will be role definition and clarity of mind to stay in the present and on track. The process to achieve these things will be laid down during practice sessions and matches. Yes the expectations will be high as defending champions but the emphasis is to teach players to handle pressure," he said.
Refering to Vijay Zol and Sanju Samson's immature dismissals after reaching centuries during the Asia Cup in UAE earlier this month, Arun felt the players need to improve their mind set rather than focuse on technical details. "So if you really look to improve it’s in the mind and not in the game. So mentally the players need to improve and pay attention to detail," he said.
"There is little time to make any great technical adjustment. There is going to be pressure but what you think under pressure is important. We are also are going to have some fatigue training," he added.
Skipper Vijay Zol, who was part of the Maharashtra Ranji Trophy team that beat Bengal in the semifinals on Monday may skip the camp to be part of the state team in the final. However, Arun felt it is crucial for the skipper to be part of the camp. "Vijay Zol is the captain of the team. We are setting certain roles in the camp and he needs to understand those roles along with the other players. Obviously, it will be wonderful if he spends more time in the camp."