Cricket coaches have never got too much credit, but on Mumbai's maidans a few good men continue to seek new talent.
Cricketing action on a regular day on the many maidans in Mumbai means more than a dozen cricket matches going on simultaneously. A player who is fielding on, say, short leg in one match, ends up fielding at long on for another match. You are also likely to see over 100 people running after the ball and often end up throwing it at the stumps being used in a different match. In other words, it’s chaos. Amidst this bedlam, you will find coaches trying to spot hot, new talent.
Dinesh Lad is one such coach who spends a lot of time watching these matches, looking for players who he thinks may have the talent and ability to make it big. Lad, who’s most famous pupil remains Indian cricket star Rohit Sharma, says that he enjoys nurturing emerging talent. Ever since Sharma was chosen to play for India, Lad’s name became known in Mumbai’s cricketing circles. He coaches at the Swami Vivekananda School, in Borivili and says that it is a 24*7 job. “You are constantly keeping tabs on how your students are doing and whether there is somebody new who you need to look at,” says Lad.
Naushad Khan, who is the man responsible for spotting two upcoming stars — Kamran Khan and Iqbal Abdullah — says that at times parents just come up to him and ask him to make their son a “star”. “I don’t have a magic wand with me,” he says. The key to stardom, feels Khan, lies with the boys themselves who need to be talented, hard working and, above all, willing to make some sacrifices. Just as Khan and Lad have with their lives. They continue working day in and day out with youngsters. What’s their secret? Lad says that he feels that the best way to groom a youngster is to make him play as many matches as one possibly can. Lad works with the Western Railways and holds an honorary coaching post with Vivekananda school. Khan says that recognition is something he doesn’t crave and adds, with some pride in his voice, “I am not bothered if I don’t read my name in the papers every month or so”. The most important thing for him is to see one of his wards make it big. “Can there be any other bigger reward than that?” Khan asks.
Ever since Sharma made it big (although he is yet to find his feet in international cricket), his coach has received a number of requests from parents from all over the country to take a look at their sons and work with them. But Lad doesn’t want it to become a money making exercise. “There’s no point in making false promises to increase the number of students,” he says. Quality over quantity is Lad’s mantra.
Khan, on the other hand, says that having faith in youngsters is one of the most important things for a coach. “You need to believe in them first, then motivate them by telling them that they are good,” says the man who spotted Rajasthan Royals’ Kamran Khan. This young bowler has found favour with Shane Warne who feels that Kamran has the potential to be a huge star. Kamran was spotted by his coach in Azamgarh, who brought him to Mumbai and became his mentor. He did the same with Abdullah as well. Just like Lad, Khan says that the important thing is that his students develop into good cricketers and get the opportunity to showcase their talent. He, however, believes that apart from imparting basic skills like improving the technique of a batsman or correcting the action of a bowler, the coach’s main job is to instill confidence in his wards.
Coaches from Mumbai have always been in the spotlight, be it Ramakant Achrekar who was Sachin Tendulkar’s coach, or Chandrakant Pandit under whose tutelage the Pathan brothers (Yusuf and Irfan) shot into prominence. But both Lad and Khan are different. Lad says that he is proud that Rohit Sharma plays for India and wants his students to emulate him. He speaks highly of his students Shivam Mishra and Pratik Gawli. “They are talented and dedicated, ” he says. Khan says the same about Kamran and Abdullah. Whether these students make it big or not is a different story. For coaches like these two, the important part is that their wards give their best. Just like they do with them.
