IPL through a scout's eyes

With less than a week remaining for the IPL auctions, franchise scouts are as busy as they have ever been; watching and analysing players, and suggesting the best fits that could be for their respective teams. Their judgement and assessment of players remain of prime importance, especially with all teams having to go for a fresh makeover.

Cricbuzzcaught up with Kolkata Knight Riders' AR Srikkanth, who is primarily a video analyst but has been scouting talent for the team since 2011. He opens up about his role as a scout, the intricacies of it and the challenges that come with it.

Excerpts:

When you scout, are there specifics in mind or is there a freer approach?

It depends. In auctions, you will look at many different aspects. If there is a mini auction, you will look at where are the gaps you need to fill in and then look for that specific talent when you're scouting. In a bigger auction, the spectrum is huge. So you look at different players and then sit as a team and weigh your options.

Is scouting as an art natural or can it be developed?

I don't think it can be developed with everyone. You need to have an eye for talent, that's like a skill that you have. There are ways in which it can be enhanced. There are no secret sauces there. You have to do the field work to produce results.

Different scouts need different perspectives. But I like to come down and see the players myself instead of hearing about players from someone else or looking at scorecards. Sometimes, scorecards can be quite misleading as well. It's different perspectives. It's how you want to see it. It's a very individual thing. It's like a batsman approaching a game. Every batsman is different. It's the same case for scouts as well. Mainly it depends on what the team needs. For example, there might be a brilliant spinner, but if we have the same squad as last year, we might not need him because he is never going to play a game.

Can talent and temperament be assigned values?

I'm an analyst who uses numbers and all those things. But in respect of scouting I like to be old-school. The judgement of players is subjective... I'm happier going to the ground, doing the field work and putting in the hard yards. I prefer looking at the players myself and then judging because numbers, even as they don't lie, can be misleading.

I do look at temperament as to how different players react to match situations, how players are using their fields and how captains are using their bowlers in different match situations, who is winning those match situations. These things also matter. So I do try and put match situations into perspective and see what the players have done. It does help in assessing players?

But can temperament be measured in a short span of time, like a one-off tournament such as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy?

That's the only premier T20 tournament that happens in India, apart from IPL. You can see only from what is available. I cannot look at red-ball cricket and see if they had the temperament or not because it is a different ball game altogether. I do scout in TNPL and KPL. So I do see a lot of players playing white-ball cricket and T20 cricket in particular. Whatever is available, you can select only with that.

How would you assess someone's performance in Australia and be sure that he will succeed in Indian conditions as well?

How many pitches in IPL turn?

But it's slightly slower with lesser bounce?

It's all a batsman's game. If a Chris Gayle has the ability to hit sixes in Bangalore, I'm sure he has the ability to hit sixes anywhere in the world. It's the ability that we are looking at. Conditions and all matter a lot in red-ball cricket, not as much in a T20 game. It's more of a battle between a ball and a bat rather than the batsman and the conditions. I personally don't give too much importance to that. In England, it does matter because the fast bowlers bowling in England, picking up wickets early on in the season, may not be as successful in Indian conditions because of the swing or what it has to offer. From the batsman's point of view, it is all the same.

When you like a player, do you talk to their academy or state team coaches to understand the player better?

Most of the players, I have a knowledge on them; what they have done, what they can do in the future. When there is someone I have seen for the first time and I want to get information, at that time, I do go and ask coaches without giving them too much information on why I want to know. They also know that I represent KKR from a scouting standpoint. So they also share their views. Asking a coach's view does not guarantee that we will buy a player. Just to know what he is, where he is from.

Where does the job of a scout end? Is it only about submitting a report or does it go beyond that?

I don't know how other teams and other scouts work. My job is not about just submitting a report. I see the players and when we sit down for auctions, I put out my options and the players that I have. And then we will discuss internally what is best for the team and then come up with the final call. So it is not like I do a desk job, write on a piece of paper, give it to someone and they take a call. It might be different for other franchises, but for us, I see and then we implement it as a team.

Who has been your most satisfactory pick?

There have been many of them. If I can recall, I had called Hardik Pandya for a KKR trial even before Mumbai Indians. But he had broken his thumb and he couldn't come for the trials. What if he had come? It would have probably been my biggest pick. There have been quite a few players that we've picked for KKR, CPL.

What if you like a player as a scout but he has disappointed in the trials. Do you still persist with him?

In trials, anyone can have a good day or a bad day. There have been a few cases where a player might do well in a particular tournament, not talking about trials. If you give him a longer rope and see what he's got. If even after that, you don't get what you're looking for, then you got to move on and pick someone else.

As a scout what do you look for in T20s - a consistently good performer or the one who fluctuates between brilliance and terrible?

It depends on what you're looking at. Sometimes, you're looking at someone who is a grafter, then you're looking at someone who is consistent and a master at doing what he does best. Sometimes, you need match winners. So there are different types of players who provide that kind of madness. The guy who you are looking to provide that kind of madness, you can't expect him to be consistent. And the guy who is consistent, you can't expect him to give you madness. So there are two different types of cricketers. As a scout, when I go to see a game and look at different players, it's in the best interest of everyone to go with an open mind. I shouldn't be biased that I like a specific player. Go with an open mind and see what is there on offer and how it comes along for the team's sake, the team's interest, if the player holds good for the team or not.

Do you look at association-run T20 tournaments as well or do you wait for the cream to come out in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and judge by the players available there?

I'm involved in quite a few leagues around the world. So I really don't have the time to go around and watch matches in the small leagues. But having said that, when that gets filtered and the cream of that come out to represent the state sides, then you are better off watching that rather than looking for a player who could come good in the next five years. From the franchise point of view, it doesn't really make so much sense to go and look at someone like that. As I said, after three years, he might not even be there. So it is better to stay short-term for short-term plans.

What are the challenges as a scout?

Nothing major as such. But there can be a disappointment if you like a player and he doesn't turn up to be the player you want. But that's not the fault of the player. It's just your expectations that you have on someone. So it's like a love affair. You want someone badly and they don't live up to your expectations. You leave it there and move on.

God has been kind that most of the players that I've picked have gone on to do well for themselves and justified our faith in them. The ratio (of success) would be, 9:1. Disappointment is bound to happen. There are times you have picked a player but he has waned off by not taking care of himself.

Can scouting in franchise cricket work like it does in football?

I don't know if there will be an academic set-up in the future (in cricket). I hope it is, but at the moment you can't keep a youngster in the team because after three years, he will go into the open market and some other team will buy him.

How different is scouting in cricket?

Franchise cricket has brought in this culture of scouting in cricket and it is important. When you have a budget to build a team, there will be a few high-price players, few low-price players and a few average players. And then to find your economical players and value buys, you need to get in and do the scouting to be able to help yourself make decisions better.

Is scouting a year-round process or something that is done only a few months before the auctions, keeping the form in mind?

I don't know how the other teams do it. But I do it year-round.

Are performances in different international and domestic T20 leagues given different weightage?

If you see the quality of the tournament, I would rank IPL number 1, Big Bash at No 2, closely followed by Pakistan Super League at No 3, followed by Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League, quality-wise and looking [at] the competitions within the teams.

I think KPL is a little higher than TNPL, especially given the kind of experience Karnataka players have in the T20 format. To be fair to TNPL, it has been only two years since it started off. They have also produced results and given us players. They gave Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Sanjay Yadav. In the future, TNPL would also grow to bigger heights, produce more players and there will be a bigger talent pool to choose from.