CHENNAI: The head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar have joined Ironwood Education as advisory board members for a certified program to spot and develop professional coaches. Since walking into the national team’s dressing room in 2014 as support staff, the trio have shown Indian coaches can be successful at the highest level by guiding the team to the top of ICC rankings across formats.
Although the National Cricket Academy has its own program for coaches, only those who have played first-class cricket get to benefit. Not all the grassroots-level coaches, who play a huge role in the development of a cricketer, aren’t certified. As Indian cricket’s ecosystem continues to grow, there is a need to have more qualified and equipped coaches at the grassroots level too. The trio, along with Ironwood Education, is now developing a curriculum that will benefit coaches. “We have only around 5000 coaches, which is not enough for a country of our size,” Arun said. “In order to be a good coach, you need to have a formal education as a coach and that is where this program will help. The Indian team is successful because its grassroots system is good. So you need to build a good foundation and you need good, qualified coaches at that level. We have so many teams that are playing professional cricket in India and good coaches should be guiding them,” he added.
While former cricketers do indulge in private coaching academies, not all happen to be certified coaches. At the age-group level where foundations are built, few players tend to miss out on valuable additions in absence of a structured coaching program. “At the grassroots level, we have very few professional coaches. There is no structure, but if we create a program where a potential coach can become professionally employed with a coaching certificate, it will be giving them a lot of confidence. If there is a standardised program at the grassroots, it will create a healthy cricketing system,” Sridhar said.
Their successful stint with the Indian team has also helped them break the popular myth that only cricketers with international experience can become good coaches. Also, it is the first time since 2000 that the Indian team has a very Indian flavour as far as support staff is concerned. “Having played at the highest level can help you better as a coach but that doesn’t qualify you to be one. Coaching is totally different from playing. In order to be a good coach, you need to have a formal education. Our bottom line is empowerment. If we empower coaches, the players will also empower,” Arun said.