Former TN Ranji Cricketer and Level 3 Coach Peter Fernandez was instrumental in Varun Chakravathy's new run up and bowling action when he converted himself from a fast bowler to a spinner earlier this decade
Ranji Cricketer from 1980 and once captain of a star studded SVPB outfit Peter Fernandez played a crucial role as a coach in the formative years of now IPL star Varun Chakravarthy, who has been in the news recently with his bowling performances in this year’s edition.
Peter Fernandez was the one who corrected Varun’s run up and bowling action during the time he was with him at the Spin Foundation in Gandhinagar. In fact, Varun has been coached by Peter in three different stints over the last 15years.
During the 15year period at the SPIN Foundation, Peter came into close contact with legendary spinner EAS Prasanna, Aussie off spinner from the 1970s Ashley Mallet, Lankan legend Muralidharan and Shane Warne’s coach Terry Jenner and is now a level three coach. His son Rohan Fernandez is a Level 1 coach and was under Robin Singh at the academy in Dubai for a few years
Varun's Three Coaching Stints under Peter
In 2004/05, when Varun was a school boy in his early teens was the first time Peter Fernandez coached him at the Kotturpuram nets of the MAC Spin Foundation. Varun had started off as a wicket keeper batsman. By the time he came back the next time, a few years later, by when the foundation had moved to SPIC, Varun had become a fast bowler. But an injury meant that he could no longer don the role of a fast bowler.
Earlier this decade, when Varun became a spinner from having been a fast bowler, it was Peter Fernandez at the Gandhinagar Nets of the SPIN Foundation who corrected his run up and bowling action.
Soft spoken Peter, who has been going through challenging times after the shutting down of the SPIN Foundation a few years ago, is quiet and in the background these days and rarely talks to his fellow cricketers.
He was happy to recount to this writer the period when he coached 'Spinner' Varun and made some fundamental corrections to his bowling “At that time, he still had the instincts of a fast bowler and hence had a fastish run up to the wicket. He was also delivering the ball a bit faster. It was quite understandable as he had been a fast bowler in the earlier period.”
Correction to the run up and release of the ball
During that third stint with him, it was Peter who asked Varun to shorten his bowling run up which at that time was too long for a spinner. Through that period at the Muthiah ground in Gandhi Nagar, Peter worked onVarun’s run up, both in terms of the length of the run up as well as the speed of arrival at the bowling crease. He also inculcated the art of bowling a ‘little slower’ in the air, for at that time Varun’s fast bowling instincts led him to bowling a bit too fast for Peter’s liking.
Peter says that through that period at his nets, Varun was consistently improving and the academy batsmen struggled against him in the nets “Even then, he was too hot to handle. It was difficult to spot him and every batsman in the academy would be bamboozled by his variations.”
Hard working and Quiet
He also remembers Varun as a quiet boy, sincere and hard working at the nets “He would come early to the nets, focus on his bowling and bowl long spells. This year’s performance is a just reward for all the years of hardwork. Given his variations, he has it in him to be successful at the highest levels for a long time.”
Peter has a word of caution for Varun "He has to focus on his fitness and improve the levels to meet the demanding schedule at the international level."
Peter Fernandez was one of the early recruits of SVPB (Sri Venkateswara Paper Boards) Udumalpet, whose founder Soundararajan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html) was promoting cricket in the districts and was keen to build a strong team. He was a dashing top order batsman and had played in his only year of Ranji cricket in 1980-81. He played 3 matches for Tamil Nadu but was never considered again. He captained SVPB and led them to victories in the Coimbatore league in the1980s.TN State teammate NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) joined him a year or so later. Both of them played in the Coimbatore first division league alongside S Sukumar and M Subramaniam (Idly Subba) among others for close to two decades. In the 1990s, he was also a Ranji selector for three years under the chairmanship of VVKumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/07/cricket-tales-exclusive-with-vv-kumar.html). He has also been an U17 and U22 selector.
Peter coached at the Spin Foundation for 15 years till January 2016. Following the shut down of the academy, Peter Fernandez has had a tough time financially with no coaching engagements. During the Lockdown, the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA), which was formed last year, pooled in financial resources from cricketers across the country to help former Ranji cricketers in need of financial help. Peter Fernandez and Najam Hussain (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/najam-hussain-80th-birthday.html) from Tamil Nadu benefited from this. As a level 3 coach and with the experience he has had at the MAC Spin Foundation, he is hopeful he will be able to get a coaching assignment with the TNCA once the cricketing activities are revived.
While currently the finances are pinching, Peter Fernandez can happily look back on the contribution he once made to this new IPL star.