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R Sridhar (Image source: Twitter)
R Sridhar, the former Hyderabad spinner, played a crucial role in turning India into one of the best fielding sides in the world during his tenure as the team's fielding coach from 2014 to 2021. He joined the Indian cricket team under Duncan Fletcher, Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri and was with the team until the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Although he had experience coaching the Indian U19 team, Punjab in the Indian T20 League and domestic cricket teams, coaching an international giant like India was a new challenge for him. Sridhar has talked about how he adapted his coaching methods and the role senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin played in bringing about these changes. He has credited Ashwin for bringing new ideas to the table and helping the team to improve their fielding performance.
“Being with Ashwin, I was struck by one of our early conversations in my first week with the national team,” wrote Sridhar in his autobiography 'Coaching Beyond - My Days with the Indian Cricket Team'.
“Non-confrontationally, he asked me, 'If you don't mind, Sridhar sir, why should I listen to you and follow the fielding drills you suggest? Why should I do what you are asking me to? From 2011 to 2014, we had Trevor Penney as the fielding coach. Now you have come in, you will be there for let's say two to three years. You will say something; you will go a way. Then a new fielding coach will come. If I am honest, in the next three years, I have a lot at stake. I should be convinced that what you are saying is going to work for me. It should help my game, otherwise why should I listen to you?'”, revealed R Sridhar.
Questions led to change in R Sridhar's coaching style
Sridhar said that questions from Ashwin made him realise the expectations from the players and pushed him to make changes to his coaching style. “We knew each other quite well by then, and I immediately got where he was coming from. His questions set me thinking: how much should I coach? What is coaching really?” he says.