Twenty20 has made cricketers more versatile, says Moody

KOLKATA: The game of cricket has evolved with the advent of Twenty20 format and most players are now capable of playing many roles, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody observed.

“In Twenty cricket you have to be alert and aware that anything can be possible, whether it’s spinner open the bowling or batting. Most cricketers are pretty adaptable and versatile now,” Moody said of Sunil Narine’s 18-ball 37 while opening the batting that set up KKR’s eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab last night.

It was not a surprise element for Moody who coached Melbourne Renegades where Narine had opened thrice in the Big Bash League.

“As a side need to be prepared for the unexpected. One of the key tactics is try to catch your opponent by surprise. Even if you steal an over from the game with bat or ball it gives you a big advantage. KKR felt good reason to go with the change at top of the order given the loss of Chris Lynn.”

FOR TEAM’S CAUSE

One of the key decisions they have taken is to leave out Kane Williamson but Moody said the New Zealand captain was aware of that the team combination.

“It’s difficult for any franchise to leave high quality overseas players. One of them being Kane. We are aware of his class. But it’s about getting the right combination to have the consistency in a tournament. Kane is fully aware of the situation. He understands, team comes first for him. His chance will come.”

Drawing an analogy with Ben Cutting who returned with the man-of-the-match award in the last year’s final, Moody said he sat on sidelines nearly 70 per cent of the matches last year. “His chance came and he capitalised and made a significant contribution.”

Moody further said the IPL has given the right platform for Indian talented youngsters to make a successful transition to International cricket. “Past nine years have seen a significant change in quality of domestic talent. Most young talent is ready and prepared now. They know what’s required to step up to next level. In the first few years, it was a big gap between quality Indian players and the overseas players. But now it’s close considerably.”

Asked whether increasing the foreigners’ quota from four would be the way forward he said, “We see a lot of Indian talent coming through. If we flood the tournament with overseas, we lose opportunity for Indian talent to emerge.”