Chennai, Aug 21 (IANS) Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar joined legendary Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation Academy here on Friday giving insights into the game while spending time with the current batch of pace bowling trainees.
McGrath, the current director of the MRF Pace Foundation, encouraged the trainees to take tips on bowling, postures, body movements, pitch dynamics and more from Tendulkar.
Speaking on this occasion, Tendulkar said: “It was great to be a part of this session that the MRF Pace Foundation put together. It is an exceptional initiative that the Foundation is serving in spotting and promoting bowling talent.
It needs steadfast and deep commitment to stay the course and having done this for the last 27 years, I feel the MRF Pace Foundation is the platform for identifying potential talent that needs nurturing in India.
It’s a special privilege for these budding bowlers to be trained under the mentorship of Glenn McGrath, one of the ace pace blowers the game has seen. I wish the MRF Pace Foundation the very best as they continue to contribute in developing the cricketing talent in India.”
In response, McGrath said: “It is indeed an honour to have the Indian iconic player Sachin Tendulkar in the midst of us. It’s exciting not only for the onlookers, but for ourselves as well for coming together to mentor the next gen bowlers.
Cricket is something which is very close to our hearts and I am confident that the trainees in the academy will work hard and excel in this sport.”
Last year, the MRF Pace Foundation entered into an agreement with BCCI for training bowlers for the national team. The academy has previously provided training to pacers like Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Venkatesh Prasad, R.P Singh and Munaf Patel who have all played for India.