Dhoni, Ashwin facilitate online cricket coaching amid lockdown

Lahiri says they are using an app ‘Cricketor’ wherein they upload their demo drills. “The trainees also need to upload their videos so that we can keep a tab on their activities. We give feedback accordingly.”

During the ongoing lockdown in place amid the coronavirus pandemic, ace Indian cricketers M.S. Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin have been facilitating online cricket coaching programmes through their academies.

File image of MS Dhoni(PTI)

According to a report in Times of India, the MS Dhoni Cricket Academy -- where the 38-year-old is not directly involved with the operations -- is offering live classes on Facebook for its trainees over the past one week. Whereas Ashwin’s academy is engaging its wards in a range of ways including online sessions with the ace off-spinner himself.

The report further says that these online coaching programmes are attracting huge interest given the huge following which the game of cricket has in the country.

Satrajit Lahiri, a former first-class cricketer and chief coach of the Dhoni academy, says that each video session posted by them is bringing close to 10,000 views across social platforms.

Lahiri says they are using an app ‘Cricketor’ wherein they upload their demo drills. “The trainees also need to upload their videos so that we can keep a tab on their activities. We give feedback accordingly.”

The batsmen, in these videos, are required to repeatedly throw balls against a wall and play with soft hands. Bowlers, meanwhile, can perform various drills without releasing the ball, monitoring the repeatability of their bowling actions and loading-up positions.

Other platforms such has Ludimos and video-calling apps Zoom or Google Classrooms are being used by various other people and coaching institutes to provide online cricket training.

All cricketing activities remain suspended in the country due to novel coronavirus outbreak which has so far claimed more than 200 lives in the country.