In between, he lost his bowling action and, consequently, his wicket-taking ability. Smaran, conceding over 100 runs at nearly five runs an over. The last two seasons were forgettable for off-spinner Vaisakh Chandran. A finger injury, followed by a shoulder injury, sidelined him. The Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka at the KCA Stadium in Mangalapuram last season was particularly chastening; he was savaged by Karun Nair and R. His shoulder injury then flared up, forcing him to spend the rest of the season in rehabilitation.
I was told to bowl 30 overs daily during practice by our former coach and I followed it. “I knew something was wrong but I was helpless. I was just going through the motions in the match against Karnataka. The shoulder was hurting as well. I felt a sharp pain on my right shoulder whenever I threw the ball while fielding. I think I over-bowled in the nets. The pain worsened, forcing me to consult a doctor who advised rest,” During his rehabilitation, he watched the video of the Karnataka match and compared them with old footage and realised his bowling action had changed drastically. “I went back to the drawing board, worked on my action. “Coach (Swapnil) Asnodkar sir asked me to bowl a little slower through the air, and I followed it. Now I am able to extract more from the surface, and by mixing the pace I can confuse the batters. Bowling in tandem with Jalaj and Sarvate has been incredibly helpful for learning about field settings and the type of deliveries to bowl to specific batters. They are always there to help me.
I also sought the help of Biju George, who pointed out the flaws and helped me to correct them,” he said. And sometimes we plot the dismissal of a batter together, “ he said.