Meet the analyst behind Super Gillies team

Having worked with the likes of Dav Whatmore (India A), Bharat Arun (Tamil Nadu), Stephen Fleming, Andy Bichel, Venkatesh Prasad (CSK), Brad Hodge and Heath Streak (Gujarat Lions), Lakshmi has a wealth of experience in performance analysis. The team management’s go-to man for data and performance analysis, Lakshmi is the only high performance analyst to be in the play-offs of all nine seasons of the IPL and the first season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. 

The analyst has been on the money from the day Chepauk Super Gillies walked into the player draft. “We had worked hard to collect all player profiles, collate their statistics and more. It was a tough draft as we had to keep an eye on all seven teams and we had planned in a meticulous way to include the players (positions) we wanted to. In the end, we got what we wanted and the result is to be seen,” Lakshmi added. 

The 34-year-old spent sleepless nights in working on a number of statistics to help Gillies outsmart their opponents. “I had to identify trends and patterns of players, like their strong areas, their weaknesses, the way they play against spinners, fast bowlers and narrow it down to different pitches etc. for my own team and all oppositions. The data had to be presented to the coach for team meetings for the coach and players to prepare strategies. Players also come to me to see the videos of their performance so that it can give them clarity before a team-meeting,” Lakshmi said, ahead of the final.

Lakshmi was happy to help the team in their quest to excel. “I must thank the coach, Hemang Badani, who had given me complete freedom to work. My job was tad easy as I knew most of the players from their domestic teams and the professional set-up was on par with international standards and it worked like a charm,” he added.