New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) Pacer Anshul Kamboj’s rise to being the joint leading wicket-taker in IPL 2026 has drawn praise from Chennai Super Kings bowling consultant Eric Simons, who credited the youngster’s professionalism and training habits as the bedrock of his success in the competition.

With 17 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 7.54, Kamboj has stepped up to be the leader of the CSK bowling attack in both power-play and back-end overs. In CSK’s resurgent win over Mumbai Indians, Kamboj picked 3-32 against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

“We have spoken a lot as a bowling unit around the chaos of batting at the moment. What do we focus on? One of the things we decided to go away from was an over-emphasis on lots of different tactics and to make sure that the bowlers walked onto the ground with absolute clarity in their mind as to what they wanted to do – number one and then safety to do that.

“We will bowl a really good delivery against the six. It is still a good delivery and it might still be the right ball to bowl next and that has been one of the things we have done. Anshul went away and the Anshul you see today was not there this season – it started last year.

“The things we worked on, he went into the domestic season and worked on different angles and approaches to the crease to be more accurate with his yorkers in particular. We have introduced round the wicket which is no secret now.

“There are a lot of nuances to what we are doing around the wicket that make him particularly effective. He has picked up wickets and been able to restrict the run rate as well. But I think what it really boils down to is his professionalism, the way that he trains,” said Simons in the pre-match press conference on Monday.

Ten of those 17 scalps of Kamboj have come in overs 17-20 at an economy rate of 8.6, something which has been critical for CSK after losing pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis to injuries.

It’s no secret that Kamboj relishes bowling from round the wicket angle in the death overs and his battle against DC finishers Tristan Stubbs, David Miller and Ashutosh Sharma will be an interesting sub-plot for Tuesday’s clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

“If you stood next to me and watched the way that he trains, the way that he understands what he is going to do, the simplicity I spoke about and the clarity. I think in the modern game a bowler needs to be clear about what he wants to do and he is very clear about his tactics and he is very clear about what his field setting is.

“So there is no grey area for him. He knows what he is going to do and I think we are striving to do that with all the bowlers. They have that clarity and that allows them to practice with a great sense of deliberate practice. He knows exactly what he wants to do in a particular day and what he wants to do in a match.

“It is more about him making batsmen do things than worrying about what batsmen do and react to them. We want them reacting to us as bowlers rather than us reacting to them as batsmen and he is doing that particularly well,” elaborated Simons.

Discussing the tournament’s current standing, where CSK sit at sixth place, Simons believes CSK is finding its identity at the right time when the race to playoffs is still wide open. “Some teams have started slowly. I think we have got some momentum. Teams need an identity and sometimes teams get an identity really quickly. Sometimes it comes down to one person scoring runs or one person taking wickets and a team gets some momentum in this tournament. It comes quick and fast, these matches.

“I don’t think we have a sense of our identity now. We always knew the way we wanted to play but the parts have fallen together. I think that is an important aspect of the IPL, reacting to those tough matches. The clarity I spoke about for the bowlers is also there for the batting and the way we play.

“There has become a bit of a gap between the top four and the rest. We still have our destiny in our own hands and we do know that we can beat any team in the league. If we keep playing to our potential, there is no reason why we can’t be on the top of the table. When we play well, we look really unbeatable,” he added.

Simons further threw light on the strategic ‘complexity’ introduced by the Impact Player rule in determining the best playing eleven in the IPL. “In the old days when you used to play with 11 cricketers, you had to find the most structure. That impact player can be used in different ways. It is about getting the balance right all the time.

“There are times when it is horses for courses in different situations and trying to make sure you cover all the bases. Understandably, look at a team selection from the outside and just see what happens. A lot of conversation takes place around who is going to play, what are the options.

“If this happens, then this person becomes the impact player. If you lose wickets, somebody else does. I promise you, it has added complexity to team management, which is unique to this tournament. We certainly try to create clarity within the team as to what is going to happen.

“If something happens and some change is going to be made, that is communicated clearly. The most important thing is that players walk onto the field clear of what is going to happen and who is going to play should things change along the way. That has certainly been the complexity that impact players added,” he concluded.

–IANS

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