“See, Prince, last year he showed glimpses of what he could achieve,” Arun said on the eve of LSG’s game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk. “So, actually this year during the camps that we had, we discussed his strengths. See, under pressure, sometimes a bowler goes blank. But under pressure, the one who is confident of executing his strengths is going to be most successful in execution.
“So, we had lot of one-on-one chats during the pre-season camps and things like that. And understood what is the best, what are their strengths. And we went about working perfectly on their strengths and on execution.”
“Even we had a chat with Kohli and Kohli said: ‘how did he bowl that ball?’ Because it’s not very common,” Arun said. “Mostly, outswing bowlers, after pitching, the ball swings in the air. After pitching, the ball tends to come in because of the position of the seam, how it lands.
“I don’t think any bowler can bowl it at will, but if you are consistently working on your swing, it can be possible. And it was a dream ball.”
Arun, who had previously worked as India’s bowling coach when Kohli was the captain, reckoned that Prince has the potential to make the step up to international cricket and that a fit Mayank Yadav could work his way back into India’s T20I side. Mayank was fast-tracked into India’s T20I team in 2024 after cranking it up to 150kph in the IPL that year, but injuries have limited his IPL appearances to just four games across the past two seasons and eight in all since his debut in 2024.
“See, one reason me joining Lucknow Super Giants is due to the fact they were really exciting bowlers,” Arun said. “If you look at Prince, Mohsin [Khan], [Mohammed] Shami is doing well and even now Mayank Yadav bowled pretty well last game. Okay, he is little short of match practice I would say, but he is getting there. And also, we have other few exciting prospects on hand.
“So, overall if you look at it, if you ask me a question, can they play for India? Yes, they have it in them to play [for India]. It’s [about] how well they [India’s team management] bring together the talent and getting the best out of it is a challenge for them.”
