Every IPL season, 80 spots across the ten teams are reserved for overseas players. Each team can field a maximum of four in the playing 11 from their quota of eight. Two or three excellent international cricketers on each side, thus, have to warm the bench for most of the two months in a foreign country. If you are part of a successful team that doesn’t want to change its combination, it’s even more difficult to get a shot.
Gujarat Titans (GT)’s left-arm pacer Luke Wood is one of them. Picked up for Rs. 75 lakh, he has chosen to spend his time here despite knowing that it won’t be easy to break into a pace combination of Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Ashok Sharma. It’s not easy, but a different kind of grind to be patient
and mentally strong enough not to let the frustration take over the team’s goal.
“I think it’s just a case of biding your time a little bit,” Wood told News18 CricketNext on Saturday. “We’ve got a pretty high‑quality bowling lineup as it is. And there are plenty of good fast bowlers on the bench – me, Jason Holder, Ishant Sharma, for example. So I think you just have to bide your time. You’ve got to train like you’re preparing to play, get what you need to feel ready for when that chance comes. If and when it comes, you can’t put a definite on that. You just have to train hard, stay patient, bide your time, and also enjoy the team’s success. You can’t sit and mope around because you’re not playing. It is what it is. Not everyone in the squad can get out on the cricket field,” he added.
Wood understands what he needs to do and, for now, doesn’t mind enjoying a world-class attack go about his business, leading the Titans to three consecutive wins after a stutter of a start.
“That’s one of the major strengths of our bowling lineup – we’ve got a lot of variety,” he said. “Even though you have three or four right‑arm seamers, they’re all very different. One can bowl mid‑150s. You’ve got KG, who’s done what he’s done for years – bowls that heavy, good length and makes it hard for batters. Then you’ve got Mohammed Siraj, who swings the ball. And Prasidh — I don’t know if you saw him at the death yesterday, he was unbelievable. I was thinking that the 19th over was top class. So you can see throughout the whole bowling lineup that everyone’s kind of different. If it’s not someone’s day, the next person takes that responsibility. I think we’ve actually got better and better as a bowling group each game. And you’re not even including Rashid Khan in that so far. So it’s a pretty strong bowling lineup. From the sidelines, it’s pretty good to watch at times,” Wood added.
The Titans’ depth is such that they can always call upon Wood for a team that has multiple batters who might struggle against left-arm pacers. For now, though, there’s a better mentor to find in India than GT coach Ashish Nehra.
“He’s been very helpful – I’ve not played a great deal in India itself, so he’s helped me understand the difference between red and black soil. He’s been really good with that. What deliveries work on certain pitches – and it’s good that he’s a left‑arm seamer too, so there’s plenty of value he can add for me,” he said.
