Playing in franchise leagues around the world elevates your game: Shane Bond

Shane Bond bowled faster than most pacers in history. Injuries hampered his career, and yet, few quicks have given cricket fans as much joy as the New Zealander did. It is a pity he could play only 18 Tests, from which he claimed 87 wickets at 22.09. In 82 ODIs, he picked up 147 wickets at 20.88. After retiring in 2010, he has focused on coaching. He spent nine gratifying years at Mumbai Indians as a bowling coach before moving to Rajasthan Royals, where he is the new assistant and fast-bowling coach. He is also the head coach of Paarl Royals, currently playing the SA20 tournament. Bond spoke to The Hindu in Paarl. Excerpts:

Do you think the SA20 could do to South African cricket something like what the IPL did to Indian cricket?

I think so. You can’t beat playing experience. And even when I started, I did six years in the Big Bash, which moved from eight games to 14. And I look at someone like Daniel Sams, who was working, came in, and that experience of playing that amount of games per year, the exposure it gave him, the experience it gave him, all of a sudden elevated him into IPL and into international honours. Because, you can train as much as you want, but it is playing experience and learning off that that makes you better. I think that is what you see in India.

Indian cricketers play more games than anyone else. So at a younger age, they are further developed. So they come into the IPL younger and have success, and obviously now there is this massive depth of talent. And you are seeing the players who play across international franchises, and are exposed now, their games are just going on the up and up.

You think of guys like Daryl Mitchell, the exposures that they have had, and how good a player he is now. I think it just elevates your game playing in the IPL and in these franchise competitions around the world. You know, at the end of the day, the more cricket you can play, the better. I would much rather play games than be in the nets.

When you first came to the IPL in 2010, as a player for Kolkata Knight Riders, did you think it would become one of the world’s biggest leagues, for any sport, not just cricket?

There was never any doubt in my mind that it was going to be a huge competition. There is obviously India’s huge population, and then there is the passion for the game. I think it is only going to get bigger and longer. At some point in time, cricket is going to go to a more football-type model. You are seeing that now with the Royals and a number of the other franchises owning teams all over the world. You are going to see players who are contracted year-round to franchises, playing in different competitions under the same banner.

Early influence: Bond is proud to have ‘played a small part’ in the development of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya (extreme left). | Photo credit: Vivek Bendre

How do you look at your time in the IPL, as a player and then coach?

Eden Gardens was a spectacular ground to play at, super noisy, and I made a lot of friends. It was a great experience for me playing alongside Chris Gayle, Sourav Ganguly, David Hussey and Ajit Agarkar, who is now the chairman of selectors for India.

As a coach with Mumbai Indians, it was nice working with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav when they were young. It felt nice seeing them develop into international players and then world-class players; it has been fun to be a small part of that as well. My nine years at Mumbai was a fantastic time.

How do you look forward to your new job at Rajasthan Royals?

It is a chance for me to work with the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan. These types of players are exciting from a coaching point of view. They have different personalities, different skill sets and different experiences.

We have a good team at Rajasthan Royals. And I don’t mind wearing pink; I quite like it as a colour in terms of fashion sense. And we have a strong side here at Paarl Royals, too. It is a lovely balance. It is always nice to have that mix of youth and experience. You know, we have got a John Turner who is a young, fresh-faced, fast bowler who has been [picked for] England. We also have Jos Buttler, who is one of the best in the world.

Do you think life for a fast bowler has become tougher because of the surfeit of cricket, with multi-format matches round the year?

It is just different now. When I was playing, T20 had just come in and one-day cricket was seen as just the short form. The biggest challenge for a pace bowler is transitioning out of T20 cricket into Test cricket. You have seen that with guys like Bumrah: that transition has resulted in back injuries because of the spike in loads.

So managing that has been a lot more challenging, and it is never easy. So I think you have seen across the board now — and that is just not bowlers but batters as well. The players are now resting for a long period of time. The T20 competition here is taking precedence over Test cricket. T20 is just enveloping everything.

Stint in pink: Bond is enjoying working with the ‘mix of youth and experience’ at Paarl Royals. He is also looking forward to his new job with Rajasthan Royals, where he will be both assistant and fast-bowling coach. | Photo credit: Special Arrangement

The pacers that have impressed you in international cricket of late?

The Australia trio [Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood]. Not just because they win, but also for their durability and longevity. And there is Stuart Broad, who retired recently. James Anderson is still going strong. Those two have been amazing for England.

Kagiso Rabada is still unbelievable, especially in red-ball cricket; his record is brilliant. He is always exciting to watch, particularly in that format.

And you are seeing guys like Shaheen Afridi emerge, but you forget how young he is. He has had some injury problems, and you forget he is 23 years of age, and the expectation from the young guy has been massive. We also saw the emergence of a lot of young, good fast bowlers at the World Cup, like Dilshan Madushanka and Gerald Coetzee.

Mohammed Siraj is awesome at the moment. You have got a guy like Mohammed Shami out injured, but the others can come in and fill the stocks [for India], and you can rotate those bowlers around and still have success.