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Sandeep has always bowled fast but all too often his bouncers were only interspersed with beamers and this was more effective at terrifying his
teammates in net sessions (when he would come armed with a hard, shiny new ball) than actually getting people out. Similarly Sandeep has always hit big but his innings all too often were made
up of one or two lusty blows before getting out swinging. |
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However, something mysterious happened over the winter of 2010 and a "new" Sandeep emerged for the 2011 season. The searing pace was now accompanied
by consistent line and length and there was a new-found (almost) responsibility to his batting and these factors resulted in Sandeep taking 17 wickets at an average of 9 and scoring almost 200
runs at 97 in the summer of 2011. |
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There are many theories of what happened to Sandeep over that winter. A sample is given below: |
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the "new" Sandeep is not actually Sandeep at all but a relative
(maybe a twin) with a striking physical similarity and sharper cricketing brain; |
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Sandeep was abducted by aliens who undertook a series of intrusive
tests which inadvertently improved his cricket; |
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during an off-season nets session near a nuclear power plant (bear
with me), Sandeep was struck by a radioactive cricket ball, transforming him in to a cricketing superhero; or |
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Sandeep crashed the England team's winter development programme
for fast bowlers and received extensive coaching from Troy Cooley / Otis Gibson / whoever is doing that now. |
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No one knows for sure, maybe not even Sandeep himself, what happened over that fateful winter and the myth of "new" Sandeep has now become so entwined
with the facts that we probably never will. At the time of writing Sandeep has yet to make an appearance for the 2012 season so only time will tell whether "old" Sandeep has come back or the effects
of the testing / radioactive cricket ball / extensive coaching have worn off. However one thing that is for sure is that the Superstars are hoping it’s definitely a case of out with the old (Sandeep)
and in with the new (Sandeep). |
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Any further theories are welcomed below in the comments box. |
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Further details showing the differences between the "New" and "Old" Sandeep were shown in the 2011 Superstars Statistics- |
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Sandeep is the most recent inductee into the 50 wickets club and currently sits 4th in the career bowling averages, while his batting average gets him
into the top 10 SUperstars ever. Separate statistics are not available for "New" and "Old" Sandeep. |
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