Managing Director Punit Balan: Players of Maharashtra Premier League outfit Kolhapur Tuskers had a memorable experience when West Indies fast bowling legend Courtney Walsh visited the team’s training session at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune.
Walsh, the first man to take 500 Test wickets, spent considerable time with the players, speaking to them about his own career and even answering their questions apart from interacting with the group’s Chairman and Managing Director Punit Balan on ways to develop the cricket ecosystem even further with the Kolhapur Tuskers team being the nucleus.
Addressing the players during the interaction, the 61-year-old Walsh emphasised the importance of controlled aggression. “Aggression without control can be detrimental. Sometimes the batsman wins, and sometimes the bowler. But if you can control the aggression and execute the plans 80-90% well, then you will succeed more often than not,” the former West Indies captain, who finished his career with 519 Test wickets and 227 ODI scalps, said.
Kolhapur Tuskers, led by former India international Kedar Jadhav, finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the Maharashtra Premier League last year and have further bolstered their squad by adding experienced all-rounder Shrikant Mundhe and hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Aniket Porwal in the recently concluded auction as they prepare to lift the trophy this year.
Speaking about Walsh’s visit to the training group and his interaction with the players, Punit Balan said, “We also had a fruitful discussion on how we can use Kolhapur Tuskers to promote the game across the state and also identify and nurture talented youngsters.”
