How many times have we seen a batter giving himself room and smashing a Mohammed Shami-length delivery out of the park over the extra cover? Not very often.
The spectators at Wankhede Stadium did witness the extraordinary shot when Mumbai Indians’ Vishnu Vinod hammered one into the stands off Shami in one of the fixtures in this IPL 2023 edition.
The shot left everyone in awe of the Kerala batter but his domestic team coach Tinu Yohannan wasn’t surprised. Vishnu’s 30 off 20 was overshadowed by Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliant ton and an all-round show from Rashid Khan who first scalped a four-fer and then struck an unbeaten 32-ball 79 but the right-handed batter played a fluent hand allowed Surya to bat long in that crucial fixture.
Yohannan, who has watched Vishnu from very close quarters in the domestic circuit, was very impressed when he saw the batter for the first time 6-7 years back.
“I saw him at least 6-7 years back and the first glimpse that I got of him was that he had some extra talent in him which can take him to the next level especially the kind of shots that he had in his armour, the time he had and his bat speed. This gave me an idea that he had something extraordinary in him," said Yohannan in an exclusive interaction with News18 CricketNext.
Vishnu has been playing for Kerala for a long time and finally got his moment under the sun with that knock for Mumbai Indians.
“He has been there in the Kerala system for almost 8 years not but the progress has been slow considering the kind of talent he possesses. I think the place where he comes from, Pathanamthitta, they do have the facilities for practice and all. But the exposure that you get from there is very minimal. It’s because of his talent he has been able to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) on and off. This is the year where he at least got a chance to showcase his talent in that MI game against Gujarat Titans where he scored 30 off 20," he added.
The switch to middle-order
Vishnu always wanted to open the innings for Kerala but Yohannan saw a finisher in him. The right-hander did open the innings in the white-ball matches last year for Kerala but the returns weren’t encouraging. He managed 140 runs in 8 SMAT fixtures in the 2022-23 season.
“He always wanted to open in the Kerala setup but I suggested him to play in the middle order. The position he has played for MI, I wanted him to play at the same position for Kerala also and he has even done well at that spot for his state team. Still he always wanted to take that opening position. Last year, we gave him that spot in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well as in some Vijay Hazare Trophy matches. But he couldn’t really do well in that batting position. I always considered him as a finisher. For me he is someone who can finish games for us. He has that ability," Yohannan revealed.
Sensing an opening for a finisher in the senior team, Yohannan felt Vishnu would be more suited for that spot.
“If you see the amount of openers in India, we have a lot of competition there. But talking about the finisher’s role, we had MS Dhoni earlier, then Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant batting in that position. So there is vacancy in that spot. Now, Rinku Singh is doing well and has come into the scene for that position. Otherwise, I can’t see many names there who can finish games," he said.
For Yohannan, a finisher is a batter who can clear the ropes at will and he saw that in Vishnu.
“Look, a finisher means that the batter should have the ability to clear the boundaries, no matter where they are playing in the world. Vishnu is someone who can clear any boundary on his day and he possesses those strokes for that as well. This is one of the reasons why I suggested him to take up that role in the side," Yohannan added.
Clearing practice
When asked whether the Kerala batter follows any specific drills to strengthen his game, Yohannan said, “He does his own practice. What I have observed is that he does a lot of clearing practice. Also, he is someone who likes to bat for long hours even in the nets. Moreover, he has improved on his sweep and his reverse sweep. This is what he was working on for quite some time now. He used to play sweep quite often earlier as well but he has made addition of a reverse sweep as well."
The 44-year-old also talked about Vishnu’s habit of batting at a brisk pace, whether in the middle or at the top of the order.
“Vishnu bats in that manner even if he is opening. He has a habit of getting a brisk start. He doesn’t have another mode. It was just in one Vijay Hazare Trophy last year where he took a bit more time. In fact, there was a game against Maharashtra where we were 120/6 chasing 280 odd and he took us over the line while batting in the middle-order. He played an extraordinary knock to notch up a hundred and also took us over the line. That was a brilliant knock that he played. Also, in Ranji Trophy fixture against Gujarat, he got a century last year and won the game for us.
“He has a knack of converting his tons into big ones because he keeps on batting. He is a match-winner but the percentage that you can expect him to win the match is only two games out of 10," said Yohannan.
IPL Journey
Vishnu last played in the Indian Premier League back in 2017 where he was capped just thrice. What took so long for his next IPL appearance? Yohannan feels it all depends upon the team dynamics and combination.
“Look that depends a lot on the team combination and the dynamics. When they pick Vishnu, he is roped in as the second wicket-keeper batter. Here he has been picked as the backup for Ishan Kishan, earlier, when he was picked for Sunrisers Hyderabad, there you had Wriddhiman Saha. He is not really considered as the regular finisher," he said.
The former India seamer was all praise for Mumbai Indians to give Vishnu an opportunity and the freedom to express himself in the middle order.
“Hats off to MI that they recognised his talent and gave him a couple of games. It’s really good to see. And he is someone who has a lot of potential to play at the higher level," Yohannan added.
When chances weren’t coming his way in the IPL, Vishnu wasn’t losing sleep over it and kept focus on things which were in his control.
“See, I think he is someone who doesn’t really think much about tomorrow and I feel that’s a blessing for him. He is that kind of a personality and he does things that are in his control. He wants to perform in every game and wants to give 100 per cent in every game. He wasn’t that worried. He always knew he had the talent and if he performs, he would be picked," Yohannan noted.
“My only thing is that the kind of talent he is, he could have got more chances in the last five years in IPL. If he would have got those chances, that would have got him into contention somewhere or at least his name would have been spoken about," he further added.
Yohannan wants Vishnu to be more consistent in winning matches for his side to stay in the limelight and to continue featuring in the Playing XI of IPL teams.
“Those who have been picked in IPL, they have been consistently winning games for their teams. They have been consistent. But when it comes to Vishnu, even for Kerala, he would win one or two games in different formats. He is a match winner on his day but being more consistent in these formats would have given him more opportunities," he said.
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