In Sunny Days , his best-selling autobiography, Sunil Gavaskar credits his mother for giving him lessons in batting in the balcony of the house in Mumbai. Many cricketers share similar experiences of one of their family members chipping as a volunteer.
In the current times of lockdown, noted coach Tarak Sinha has kept his wards engaged by using technology to reach out to his students, especially those under-15. “I give them lessons through video messages and we interact constantly to ensure the process is maintained in this critical phase for all us where none can step out of the house,” Sinha told Sportstar .
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The idea, as Sinha explained, was to keep the youngsters in a state of positive mind. “Most youngsters who are kind of outdoor individuals find it tough to be locked inside the house. They can get restless and also there is this fear of losing focus. This is the best to stay connected with them,” he added.
Sinha’s day begins with planning coaching lessons for batsmen and bowlers. Even fielders too. How? “What I do is I ask them to record a particular action. For batsmen it can be forward and backfoot defence, execution of shots like cover drive and sweep, which have to be strictly by the book. For bowlers, it can be the loading and delivery, and the short follow-through. Obviously much depends on the space available for these kids to record their videos.”
As Sinha noted, the “exercise keeps the boys disciplined because I give them specific tasks. I then send my responses through videos and then we assess the lessons of the day. I have formed set of players who have to follow the instructions diligently with the help of family members. I feel so happy that in many cases I see the lady folk of the house assuming the roles of bowlers.”
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Known to impart quality coaching, Sinha has a big pool of internationals players from Delhi’s iconic Sonnet Club – Surender Khanna, Randhir Singh, KP Bhaskar, Raman Lamba, Manoj Prabhakar, Atul Wassan, Sanjeev Sharma, Aakash Chopra, Ajay Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.
The exercise, Sinha insisted, was an effort to make the youngsters “enjoy” the time they have been asked to spend indoors. “This is something each individual in out country should follow without fail. I know it can be tough but if a 12-year-old looks to contribute by following a disciplined routine why can’t the elders. We have to strengthen the government’s hands by following the lockdown strictly.”
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