MUMBAI: They have an array of support staff at their disposal to look up to and seek help in case of need. A posse of experts, who have years of experience behind them to bail a player out of their problems. Notwithstanding the availability of these experts round the clock, most of the players still turn to their childhood coaches when things are not going right.
Be it India captain Suryakumar Yadav or Hyderabad batter Tilak Varma or comeback-man Ishan Kishan or left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, they all are in regular touch with their childhood coaches. While talks usually centre around motivation and self-belief, a few inputs from these coaches do wonders for their wards on the field.
To begin with, Tilak underwent an emergency surgery for testicular torsion on January 7 in Rajkot, after suffering acute pain. He felt the pain during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but it became unbearable when he was leading Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Rajkot. Hours after captaining the team to a win over Bengal, he rushed to a hospital along with the team masseur. The first person he called from there was Salam Bayash, his childhood coach.
"The moment I saw his call at 6:30-7 in the morning, I got worried," the coach told this daily. "He was worried and told me that the doctors want him to undergo an immediate surgery. Everything was arranged there but the World Cup was only a month away and it was bound to affect him and me as well. I then spoke to his parents and apprised them of the condition. I also spoke to the masseur."
Returning to competitive cricket looked difficult but the coach was confident. "He returned to Hyderabad a day after the surgery and took complete rest for almost a fortnight before moving to the NCA for rehabilitation. He was first ruled out of three T20Is against New Zealand and later was advised to skip the remaining two matches. But God wanted him to play in the World Cup so he returned well in time playing the warm-up matches and then the first contest against the USA."
Suryakumar was struggling for runs for more than a year and that was a worrying sign for the Indian team ahead of the bash. With only days to go for the marquee event, the Mumbai batter's last fifty came back in October 2024 against Bangladesh. To be precise, Suryakumar's barren run continued for 23 innings and 467 days.
He got starts in a few innings like the unbeaten 47 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and a 39 without being dismissed against Australia in Canberra but that 50-run mark remained elusive. It's not that he wasn't questioned about it. During the post-tournament press conference after India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, he was asked the question with him replying, "I feel I am not out of form, I feel I am out of runs." He repeated it at the post-match presentation of the third India-South Africa T20I in Dharamsala. "When the runs have to come they will definitely come, but yes, I'm looking for runs. Not out of form, but definitely out of runs," he said.
From the outside, it might look like the explosive batter was attempting to shrug off his poor form by claiming his form was good even if he didn't have runs under his belt. But a chat with his childhood coach Ashok Aswalkar cleared all the doubts.
"He was right when he was saying that," Aswalkar told this daily. "It happens in every player's career. It happened to Virat Kohli and is a part and parcel of the game. You need to have that belief in you to counter such a situation. I also told him to shut out the outside noise and focus on his batting. Everybody knows how destructive he can be on his day and fortunately for him, he got those much-needed scores during the bilateral series against New Zealand. Those three fifties — two of them were unbeaten — against the Kiwis was the booster he needed ahead of the World Cup."
Suryakumar coming back among the runs served the bigger purpose when the hosts were reeling at 77/7 against the USA in their opener. Surya took took them to 161/9 with his 84 not out off just 49. "Batting with such authority in such a situation shows his mental toughness. We always talk about it as it is the difference between a big and an ordinary player," added the coach.
As Aswalkar is to Suryakumar, Kapil Pandey is to Kuldeep with one big difference being the latter still coaches the ace spinner whenever the player is in Kanpur. "Just like a father keeps an eye on his children and gives them advice even if they need it or not, we keep an eye on their show and pinpoint the mistakes they are committing. I still remember the Lord's Test he played in 2018. He went wicketless, giving away 44 runs in nine overs. He was sent back after that outing. On returning, I told him how his palm was not opening towards the batter and that led to the problem. I made him bowl 20 overs per day here in Kanpur and it was all right after three days," Pandey said.
The coach said he keeps reminding Kuldeep that he is the best bowler and should give his best whenever he gets an opportunity. Incidentally, Kuldeep has been in and out of the team for a long period and the coach has had to guide him through the phase as well. "I told him that just like a soldier keeps himself ready for a battle, he should be prepared for any situation. For that to happen, he needs to give his 100 per cent in the nets. (Mohammed) Siraj was match ready, that's why he was able to deliver within 24 hours of the call-up to the squad. That should be the mindset."
And it's the same with Ishan and his coach Uttam Majumdar. These days, Majumdar is more like a mentor and friend. "Cricket-wise what can I teach him as he has grown in stature. But, yes, I keep motivating him so that he remains in the right space. We are in constant touch and he shares things with me. My job is to make sure he is in the best frame of mind. It always helps. I have known him since childhood, so I know what's going on in his mind," Majumdar said.
As Majumdar said, the cricketers they once coached are now stars and role models to many. They have experts around them for any help they need. But it's the bond they share with their childhood coaches that make them go back to them. A few words of encouragement from the coaches make all the difference. That was visible during Surya's match-winning knock against the USA.
