The Indian Premier League has not only given young Indian cricketers a platform to perform with and against the world's best but has also helped players from the overseas. Marcus Stoinis, for instance. The 25-year-old is in Chennai with the Australia 'A', having made an impression in the first drawn 'Test' last week with 77 in the first innings and picking up two wickets in India A's second innings with his off-cutters.
The Greek-origin player born in Perth did not get to play in IPL 2015 for Delhi Daredevils but learnt a lot from the sidelines with batting coach and former India player Sridharan Sriram. The benefits of which he is reaping on the current tour.
“I was pretty lucky to get into IPL, spending seven-eight weeks with Delhi Daredevils,” Stoinis said in Chennai on Monday, two days before the second and final 'Test' against the Cheteshwar Pujara-led India 'A'.
“We had a great set up. Gary Kirsten was a great coach and helped me a lot in getting me to speak with JP Duminy and other South African players. I had Yuvraj Singh help me a lot as well. I spent a lot of time with Sriram one-on-one, getting an idea of not just the conditions and the wickets but also the different bowlers and different plans. It was more of the Indian style of approaching the game than the Australian style.”
Stoinis admitted that he worked a lot on tackling the spinners during his time with DD. “I worked a lot on my defence against spinners even though I was here for the IPL. Once I can defend, I can understand the flight-path of the ball, what's happening off the wicket a little bit better, and before you know, you can attack a lot easier. Am sure it will help in Twenty20 and longer formats,” said Stoinis, born in Perth and played three first-class games for Western Australia before shifting base to Melbourne for better opportunities and representing Victoria in Australian domestic cricket.
Stoinis is not only about defence. While he showed patience against India 'A' bowlers, mainly spinners Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha during his four-and-a-half hour and 179-ball knock of 77, he also demonstrated that he can adapt to the limited-overs as well. Like he did for Cricket Australia's National Performance Squad by smashing six sixes in an over against National Indigenious Squad at Allan Border Field in Brisbane earlier this month. So what if the boundaries were short, even by his own admission.
Stoinis and the rest of the Australian 'A' team are excited to play the second 'Test' in Chennai from Wednesday as it will feature Virat Kohli. The Indian Test captain has a special liking to the Aussies, not only for the success he has had with the bat but also in giving it back to them when it comes to war of words.
Stoinis just can't wait to take the field on Wednesday against Kohli. “I just think he is a very great player. It is going to be a really good test for us. We are excited that he is playing. I don't think it will get spicy, but who knows once you get into the field? It is always going to be competitive. He is a competitive person. We are competitive people. I think there is a lot of respect there,” said Stoinis.
Considering experienced Australian internationals David Hussey and Cameron White as his mentors, Stoinis has learnt a great deal from Viv Richards during the legendary West Indian's stint as batting coach with Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
“Viv has been such a charismatic person, his confidence rubs on you as a person. It is his simple mentality when he talks about batting, trusting what you are doing, having a plan and belief. He is the sort of person who believed he was the best no matter what and probably even before he was the best. He spoke a lot to me about how you carry yourself as a person around the team, and onto the field, how that can influence the people on the field,” Stoinis said.
“David Hussey is also another player who moved in (to Victoria) from Western Australia. When I was playing my first game (for Victoria), he took me under his wings when I did not have a contract. Here was one person who was quite open for discussion and got me involved. He himself is a very good player of spin. Him and Cameron White, have been my mentors for batting against spin,” Stoinis said.
Having played in 21 first-class matches and with one century and 12 fifties, Stoinis wants to be a genuine all-rounder.
“I have always been a batsman since I started. As much as I love my batting, bowling might be the one that separates me from a lot of other batsmen. It could be a lot more important than I would think. I want to be a genuine allrounder. So have been working hard on my bowling. I spent 4-5 weeks in Brisbane before coming here just bowling,” Stoinis said.
The current tour of India will only complete his learning curve before we get to hear more of him in the coming months.
DID YOU KNOW?
Stoinis had smashed six sixes in an over playing for Cricket Australia's National Performance Squad against National Indigenious Squad in Brisbane earlier this month
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