When did you first
see Rohit Sharma and what really stood out ?
Rohit first came to the nets I coached at [Malad] when he
was around 11. At that age he stood out because he could execute the training
drills more efficiently than other. Such thing as simply stroking the ball, he
seemed to have a nice flow and it came naturally.
Was he disciplined or
you had to yell at him ?
Yes, he was disciplined. There was probably only one
occasion when I had to yell at him but that was because he would stay up late
talking with this watchman in the building he used to live in and he never got
enough sleep. He didn’t come late to
training but I could tell he had not slept and needed to explain to him the
benefits of resting before cricketing matches.
Not only have you helped
him in his cricket but also in life in general ?
Once I knew he had the potential to go all the way it was
important he remained focus on the game and he was given all the necessities a
cricketer needs. Rohit was staying with his uncle’s flat [family of 5 plus
Rohit] which was so small, he often could not stick to a regime such as going
to sleep early because one member of the family would watch TV until late
hours. At that time I assisted his family to get a bigger flat near my flat. It
allowed me to keep an eye out on him. He used to cover over for dinner lot of
times, sleep on time and other things.
Why do think people
still question Rohit’s fitness ?
There are some cricketers who always look lethargic it is
their natural body type. If you observe
school or college cricket there are many cricketers in that mould, but if he
was really that lazy – would he have still scored so many runs? The way Rohit
walks people say look at him just strutting along - but that is he’s style. I have seen lazy kids and if Rohit was lazy
he would have never made it into international cricket.
Did you speak to him
after he was dropped for World Cup ?
Yes, I spoke to him. He was disappointed but I could only
give him advice to stay focus and concentrate on cricket.
You felt there were
factors off the field that were affecting his performance on the field.
It is difficult for me to say because like when Rohit was
young I could keep tabs on him and I was his coach plus mentor so I could keep
him under my radar. Once he had become a
senior cricketer I not aware of what he is off the field. Perhaps Rohit was hanging around with the
wrong people but it is new phase [money and
fame] for cricketers so I do not think Rohit is the only guilty party, other
cricketers have been affected as well.
You must be proud to
scout his talent and see him progress to the national ranks
Yes, I am proud because cricket means a lot to me. I have
been coaching and working side my side like many other coaches in Mumbai for
15-20 years and to see your student play for India is proud moment. In saying
that I think school coaches get too much credit. At the end of the day we are
their first coach, we teach them the basics and correct their basic mistakes. We do NOT make Rohit Sharma’s or Tendulkar’s
we simply find them and teach them basics. At the end of the day their talent
is within and nobody can teach it.
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