New Delhi, Nov 5 : There was no coach who could peek into his 20-year-old mind when Yuvraj Singh battled insecurities of that age while playing top-flight cricket under constant scrutiny.
A little over two decades later, Yuvraj says he is glad to have transformed into that coach, who easily reads Abhishek Sharma’s mind as he takes world cricket by storm with his breathtaking strokeplay in T20 Internationals.
“You have been looking at it for last 8-9 months but Abhishek has been working on his game for last four to five years. In terms of coaching, at the beginning it was more about sharing my experiences with him and Shubman (Gill) when I was on the verge of retirement,” Yuvraj told PTI in an exclusive interaction facilitated by the Laureus foundation.
The 44-year-old feels that over the past few years, working on Abhishek’s game has made him understand the nuances of coaching and mentorship, something that he missed in his younger days.
“I think working with Abhishek over the years has also kind of made me understand that what are the things that you need to do as a coach, or as a mentor.”
“I have also learnt through that journey how to help a talent grow and whatever programmes that we did and whatever targets that we have, it is because he has worked so hard to reach and that’s why the performances are showing.
“The work ethic that Abhishek has shown and effort that he has put in is not just for the last 6-9 months, it is the work of last four to five years and now the results are showing,” he elaborated.
It is well-documented how Abhishek and his best buddy Shubman had camped at Yuvraj’s Chandigarh residence during the COVID-19 lockdown where the two-time World Cup winner mentored them.
People know about how strict a disciplinarian Yuvraj’s father Yograj Singh was during his formative years but the dashing southpaw is quick to reject comparisons with him while talking about his coaching methods.
“I am definitely nothing like Yograj Singh. I am a very different person and a very different personality. My style of coaching is very different.
“I believe when you are coaching someone or mentoring someone, you need to be in their shoes and you need to understand their mindset, what they are going through rather than telling them what to do.
“It has to be like a push and pull. You take some and you give some. So it is important to understand how to be in the head of a 19-year-old,” Yuvraj underlined his methodology.
In his younger days, he was in and out of the Indian team and felt bogged down by the pressure of adjusting to the demands of top-flight cricket.
“When I was a 19-year-old, nobody understood the challenges that I was facing. So when I see a 19 or a 20-year-old, I know exactly what challenges they are facing mentally.
“…it is about listening to them and understanding their mindset and working accordingly rather than telling them what to do.”
Abhishek, since his entry into the Indian T20 set-up as an opener, has literally changed the grammar of how India approach their batting in the shortest format.
Yuvraj gives complete credit to coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“I think the fearlessness also comes with support from coach and the captain and I think when the coach and captain allow you to go and play your game, fearlessly, it gives you an opportunity to express yourself and that’s where I come from as well.”
He drew a parallel with Gary Kirsten’s tenure in the Indian set-up when he played some of his best cricket for India in the 50-over format especially the unforgettable ODI World Cup in 2011.
“When Gary Kirsten was the coach, he would always tell me that if you go and play your game and if you play the way you do, you will put India in a winning position.
“…Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav have given him (the confidence) by telling him that if you go and play your game, you will put India in a winning position 6 out of 10 times and that is what he is doing,” he signed off. (PTI)
