Bharath is seen here with Geoff Boycott during a Test match in England.
Sanmar’s unusual success rate in cricket competitions and the regularity of its discoveries going on to don national colours unsurprisingly point to a healthy talent-spotting and grooming process systematised by the Group.
One man has been responsible over the last three decades for translating the top management’s agenda in this aspect into action: Bharath Reddy, former India wicketkeeper and Jolly Rovers captain, who as a vice-president in Chemplast oversees cricket affairs in Sanmar.
Bharath, known even in his playing days for his man-management skills as well as his capacity for recognising genuine cricketing ability, has been helped by these very qualities to effect a seamless transition to his present role. He is able to identify players who will fit into the Sanmar mould and go on to contribute to its teams’ success for a reasonable period of time.
“My job is to spot talent, and I think I have a good eye for it, and make all the best facilities available for their growth and development. Thanks to Sanmar’s readiness to invest in our cricket infrastructure, we have the best coaches, trainers, net practice and training facilities, including different types of wickets and bowling machines. When I come across a good prospect, I invite him to our nets and take a good look at him for a couple of days. Once I find him good, I turn him over to our physio Shyam Sundar—one of the best in the country and engaged by Mumbai Indians—who analyses the player’s physique and then hands him to out trainer Dhanasekharan, again one of the best in the country. Our cricket coach Jaykumar is responsible for the development of our recruits into fine cricketers. Test opener M Vijay is one such player.
“In addition to our own coaches, I also invite experts to help out with some of our boys with specific requirements. I have thus utilised the services of veteran spinners VV Kumar , S Vasudevan and V Ramnarayan on occasion to guide our spin bowlers, even making available video recordings of the bowlers to the experts”.
The list of cricketers spotted by Bharath at the early stages of their careers reads like a Who’s Who of Indian cricket. M Vijay who amassed the highest aggregate of runs for India recently against Australia is a prime example.
TA Sekar, VB Chandrasekhar, L Sivaramakrishnan, B Arun, D Vasu, Sunil Subramanian, L Balaji, S Badrinath, Ajay Kudua, R Ashwin, and Sandeep Sharma (one of the bright fast bowling prospects in India today) are some of the Sanmar discoveries to go on to great heights. Incredibly, Bharath spotted Test offspinner Harbhajan Singh after a single viewing in the Buchi Babu tournament years ago, and so was Harvinder Singh, a pace bowler who went on to represent India. Dinesh Karthik was only 11, when Bharath took him on a tour of England with other promising cricketers. The Sanmar boys will soon be touring England to gain exposure to international standards of cricket. “This is also an opportunity for the youngsters to learn how to conduct themselves overseas,” says Bharath. “This is good preparation for their future international careers.”
Bharath Reddy taking a diving catch of Mumbai’s Atul Mankad.