R Sridhar, a former Indian fielding coach, made the Men in Blue arguably the best fielding team in the world. He was praised for his work as the national team’s fielding coach from 2014 to 2021. However, in his book “Coaching Beyond – My Days with the Indian Cricket Team,” Sridhar has also made some daring revelations about some of the conversations he has had with the players.
R Sridhar wrote about a conversation he had with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in one of his books. He stated, I was struck by one of our first conversations during my first week with the national team while I was with Ashwin. “If you don’t mind, Sridhar sir, why should I listen to you and follow the fielding drills you suggest?” he asked me non-confrontationally.
Why should I comply with your request? We had Trevor Penney as our fielding coach from 2011 to 2014. You will be there for two to three years now that you have arrived. You will make a statement; You’ll go a long way. A new fielding coach will then arrive. If I’m being honest, I have a lot at stake in the next three years. I ought to be persuaded that what you’re saying will work for me. If it doesn’t improve my game, why should I listen to you?
The realization that R Sridhar had after speaking with the Indian off-spinner
Before joining the Men in Blue, Sridhar had some respectable coaching experience. He had prior coaching experience with local teams and served as an assistant coach for the U19 squad. sridhar did, however, enlighten up about the humiliating experience he had following the conversation with Ashwin.
He understood that he needed to toughen up if he wanted to succeed as a coach on a global scale. Regarding this, Sridhar said: “By that point, we were very familiar with one another, so I easily understood his perspective. His inquiries got me wondering: How much coaching should I do? What exactly is coaching?”