IANS

New Delhi, Aug 4: Pakistan's legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram was impressed with the nine young fast bowlers who attended the 19-day camp that concluded here on Monday.

The camp was conducted by Gatorade Centre for Pace Excellence (GCPE) at the Modern School in Vasant Vihar.

During the camp, players were taught by chief coach Akram how to identify a batsman's weaknesses, especially when they are bowling on the flat, sub-continental pitches.

Akram said that such initiatives will help bowlers correct their techniques.

"India has never had dearth of talent but initiatives like Gatorade Pacers that spots and scientifically trains the talent will go a long way in getting India's next generation of fast bowlers. This initiative is special to me for another reason - it also inculcates the culture of sports science in the players at the young age; which I believe is critical if one were to consistently deliver at one's best over a long period of time," said Akram.

The boys, who were selected by a talent hunt programme, were also taught about personalised hydration and fitness program so as to ensure that they bowl at the best from the first over of the day to the last over of the day.

"Optimal Hydration is a strong performance differentiator once you have similar skill and fitness levels. We learnt this the hard way, I am happy initiatives like this are exposing young students, coaches and administrators to the importance of optimal hydration," he added.

T.A. Sekar, who is the chief technical consultant, said that more centres like GCPE to spot talents and correct their techniques at a young age were proposed to be set up.

"While India today boasts of match winning pacers, it is critical that we keep spotting and developing that talent at grassroots level to get the next generation ready. It takes a lot of efforts, from a variety of experts to shape a talent into a good fast bowler.

"Wasim and I reviewed the progress and we are very satisfied with the results. The bowlers too are very happy. The next camp will be conducted in December. We are giving them home work till then," he said.