Coach Nanavati

Bruce Reid, consulting bowling coach of the Indian team during the tour of Australia last year, had bowled a googly by branding Zaheer Khan as mentally slothful, given his track record of breaking down all too often. Such plainspeak is very rare.

Assam?s Ranji Trophy coach Dinesh Nanavati may not be in the same league as Reid and the state cricketers not on a par with Zaheer, but his confidential assessment of the players during the season?s dismal first-class campaign is a startling revelation.

In his report to the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), Nanavati has assessed every individual player of the team.

Excerpts from the report:

• SYED ZAKARIA ZUFFRI (captain): Determined player with good temperament and attitude. As wicketkeeper, slower when moving sideways. Poor running between the wickets.

• PARAG DAS: Survived all the-se years because of good hand-eye co-ordination, despite poor footwo-rk and technique. Poor fielder.

• SUBHRAJIT SAIKIA: Very flashy outside off stumps, which is unusual for an opener. Poor temperament and running between wickets, mentally not tough.

• PARVEZ AZIZ: Too attacking for an opener? some technical flaws. Should improve running between wickets. Very lethargic on the ground.

• CHANDAN RAWAT: Has potential to play at the higher level. Should improve attitude. Some technical flaws.

• GOKUL SARMA: Good middle-order batsman with best potential, attitude and mental toughness among the youngsters. One of the few good fielders in the team.

• lR.K. MRITUNJOY GOHAIN: Has still not developed the right attitude and mental toug-hness to play at this (Ranji) level.

• SUBHADEEP GHOSH: Very good fielder, but lacks courage to play at this level.

• lARLEN KONWAR: Did not bowl a good line and length. Shows great commitment on the field, good fielder and useful lower-order batsman.

• GAUTAM DUTTA: Lacks pace to succeed at this (Ranji) level. Has neglected fielding. Appears to be past his prime.

• JAVED ZAMAN: Bowled well at the nets, but poorly in matches. Lacked penetration on lively tracks. Past his prime.

• MRIGEN TALUKDAR: Useful all-rounder. Did not get the opportunity to show his worth. Good attitude and true team man.

• R.K. YADAV: Bowls good line and length. Good attitude. Moves the ball both ways. Needs to develop variations such as slower ball, yorkers and bouncers. Needs to be more aggressive, very good fielder.

• VASANT SARAVANAN: Very aggressive against spinners. Good batsman and very good fielder, but did not perform anywhere near his last season?s performance.

• R. SATISH: Good attacking batsman capable of getting century every time he goes out to bat, but vulnerable against medium pace. Brilliant fielder.

• SUKHWINDER SINGH: After his shoulder injury last year he is not the same bowler. Was a big disappointment. Clearly over the hill.

• SAJJAD HUSSAIN: Lot of limitations as batsman. Needs to improve running between the wickets and fielding. Focussed more on non-cricketing matters.

• MARK INGTI: Very fit and agile. Erratic at times. Experiments a lot, a good team man. Can be developed as a useful all-rounder.

• JASON J. LAMARE: Showed great courage and character. Has ability to stay at the wicket. Brilliant fielder.