BANGALORE: Imtiaz Ahmed played first class cricket from 1973 to 1980 in an era when Karnataka was flooded with players of class and quality. A right hand batsman and a leg break bowler, Imtiaz made the most of the opportunities that came his way. But after giving up the game, he took to grooming youngsters.
To unearth talent and provide the best possible coaching, he established the Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy (IACA) which boasts of 25 years of existence. Over the years, the IACA has been a breeding ground for talent. Morning, noon and evening, Imtiaz has been at the St John’s ground where he organises summer and holiday camps apart from his year-long coaching activity for those who want to take to cricket more seriously.
This category of players interests him more than the others. For he is committed to the cause of providing budding youngsters the right coaching in terms of cricketing techniques and also imparting lessons in sports psychology to prepare them for bigger battles. Not surprisingly, many of his wards have done well at junior and senior levels.
Politics in cricket administration, which has played havoc with team selections, has come in the way of some IACA boys being denied their dues despite being more talented. But Imtiaz remains unfazed.
“Look, I have been doing my job for the past 25 years. Cricketers know the kind of coaching they receive at my academy and that is all that matters to me. If someone from Academy who is good is not selected, my Academy does not lose anything. It is a loss for state and national cricket. So I don’t really bother about these things and continue to work for the benefit of players who come to my Academy for guidance,” said Imtiaz.
“I don’t work for commercial gains as God has been very kind to me in all respects. Nor do I hanker after publicity. If someone thinks that I have been doing a sincere job and gives us recognition, I will be happy,” said Imtiaz.
“From humble beginnings, our academy has grown in strength over the years. We have had some very experienced coaches and former players guiding the boys. Be it jogging, exercises, batting, bowling and fielding techniques, we have experts looking into all aspects. I myself did my coaching courses and as the numbers began to increase year after year, I was forced to appoint qualified coaches so that we can pay as much individual attention as we can to all those who come. We also organise regular tournaments to simulate match situations. Every year, we also take the boys on exposure trips abroad so that they have an idea of the different conditions in which they will have to play once they graduate to higher levels,” said Imtiaz.
“The fact that a player like Rahul Dravid has trained at my academy bears testimony to my efforts,” Imtiaz added. “The present Karnataka state team skipper Ganesh Satish and hits teammates Robin Uthappa, Stuart Binny and Amit Verma are products of my Academy,” said Imtiaz.
“With tournaments like the IPL being organised, everyone wants to become a T20 player. But I always tell them that only if your basics are right, can you adopt better to any format,” he added. “We intend to celebrate our silver jubilee in a big way,” signed off Imtiaz.