Former Australian batsman Michael Bevan is often hailed as the `original finisher’ in world cricket. The 46-year-old will don the coach’s role for the Madurai Super Giants at the inaugural edition of Ta mil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). For Bevan, who earlier coached Chennai Superstars in the defunct Indian Cricket League, it’ll be second coming to Tamil Nadu.
The Aussie southpaw, who featured in 18 Tests and 232 ODIs, spoke on his motivation to be part of the league, the best finisher in world cricket today and more.
Excerpts:
What were the main reasons which made you become part of TNPL?
(Laughs) I didn’t play hard to get it. I haven’t coached in India for the last couple of years. It’s always enjoyable to coach here and a challenge as well and those are the two main reasons I took on this coaching role.
What prompted you to coach these boys since money involved in this league may not be as high as some of other leagues in the world?
It’s a good question. For me when I consider a coaching job, it must provide me an opportunity and challenge me. When you are a coach, money is not a be-all and end-all factor. According to me, coaching is about of getting outcomes and playing a part in change. Whenever I’ve coached in India before, it has always been rewarding since players here are extremely committed -making things a lot easier. They always want to learn, and that’s why India is a rewarding place to coach.
In the coming years, would we see more players choosing only to play T20s -hopping from one league to another?
It depends on how much control administrators have over that aspect. We are already seeing some the West Indies players doing that instead of playing Test cricket.They are moving to different leagues within the sphere of T20s and it will increase unless it’s controlled by the governing bodies of the respective country.
You excelled in the role of a finisher. What used to be your mindset when you walked in to bat?
I didn’t understand my mindset, if I’ve to be honest here! I just did what I did. That’s why -one of the things I did after becoming a coach was to understand why I did well so that it could be imparted to the players coached by me. During my playing days, I followed a particular gameplan and went by my strengths and understood my weaknesses. I tried to understand what was happening around me -who was bowling to me, the pitch conditions and other aspects of the game. Two things I was really good at was making the right decisions and at the right time. What I try to do is help players make those decisions but in their own way .
Who according to you is the best finisher?
MS Dhoni has to be one of the best finishers of all time. He is not just someone who has excelled in that role but has been outstanding in his game and achieved some wonderful things for Indian cricket. The guy who took over from me (in the Australian team) -Mike Hussey had extra speed and had good grasp of how to finish games. Someone like AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli too have redefined the role of finishers and their performances have been phenomenal.
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