It took only one session for former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq to reveal Mohamed Enaan’s USP.
“Many coaches will tell you to change your action, but stick to this. It is the most unique aspect of your bowling,” Mushtaq would tell Enaan, who was around 12 years old when his father Shanavas Moidutty took him for a coaching session in Dubai.
And nearly six years later, with the same quick-arm action, it was Enaan’s leg-spin and googlies that helped India Under-19 post a thrilling two-wicket win over their Australian counterparts in the first Youth Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. Having taken three wickets in the first innings, Enaan took six in the second to have match figures of 9/127.
On a Chepauk pitch that offered turn and bounce, Enaan made the most of the conditions. He beat the Australian batsmen in flight, had them caught bat-pad, and bowled them with googlies en route his six-wicket haul which restricted the visitors’ second innings to 214. Chasing 212, India won by two wickets with Nitya Pandya and Nikhil Kumar scoring fifties.
This is a story that began in the Gulf – Sharjah and Dubai – and now continues in Kerala. When Moidutty enrolled Enaan for a coaching programme in Sharjah, it started as only an extra-curricular activity. But two coaches who came from Kerala would chart out a new pathway. “They were the first ones to say Enaan has the potential and asked us to pursue cricket seriously,” Moidutty, who used to work at the Dubai International Airport, tells The Indian Express.
For Moidutty, who was a school-level athlete in the 100m and represented Kerala in handball, it was a no-brainer. “I’ve been an athlete and when the coaches told me to give Enaan more attention, I didn’t think twice. Because of my family situation, I couldn’t prolong my career in sports. I had to focus on education. But with Enaan, I could afford to do it,” Moidutty, who now runs an online badminton equipment business, says.
With Saqlain’s words adding more weight, Moidutty would send Enaan with his wife to Thrissur to attend city trials. After getting into the city’s squad, Enaan would enrol at Athreya Cricket Academy, with coach Dinesh Gopalakrishnan taking him under his wings.
“When I first met him as a 10-11-year old, his bowling stood out from the rest. With that quick action, he was getting good turn and bounce. Since he came just to use the facilities, I didn’t get too much into his action. But after observing him, I found his action to be his biggest plus and didn’t want to change it. I’ve always encouraged kids to follow what comes naturally to them. You can’t expect every leg-spinner to bowl like Shane Warne. And moreover, Enaan was so comfortable with that action that all I had to do was ensure his alignments were in sync,” Dinesh says.
What comes naturally
There is a reason why Saqlain wanted Enaan to never change his action. The left-hand, his non-bowling arm, isn’t in use much. His short run-up is quick and the action is simple and repeatable. More importantly, even when Enaan bowls googlies, he isn’t giving batsmen any clues to pick from his action.
But Dinesh reveals, at various camps both at state and senior levels, Enaan has faced questions about his action.
“Whenever he comes back, he says the coaches at the camp advised him to change his action and asks ‘what should I do?’ My answer has been the same all these years, ‘don’t change’. This is the action that gave him wickets at all age levels, so why they ask him to change is a question that I will never understand,” the coach says.
For Dinesh, from the moment Enaan made it to Kerala’s Under-14 side, there has been only one goal – to play in the Under-19 World Cup. It meant when he isn’t part of the state U-14 side, Dinesh will get him to play club cricket at senior levels. It has led to Enaan bowling to Kerala Ranji players Vishnu Vinod, Sachin Baby, Rohan Kunnummal as well as India batsman Sanju Samson on a regular basis.
“We have planned all his preparations keeping in mind the Under-19 World Cup. For three years, we have been working on it and what encouraged us was that every year he was making it to the NCA Elite camp. And moreover, bowling to Ranji regulars meant he had the confidence as he had troubled a few of them in matches as well as the nets,” Dinesh says.
