Gursharan Singh to coach Uttarakhand in new domestic season

Gursharan’s first stint as a coach was with Punjab in 2007-08 when it had lost some of its good players to the Indian Cricket League.

File photo of Gursharan Singh as coach during India Blue's practice session.

Gursharan Singh will be the new coach of Uttarakhand this season. He replaces K. P. Bhaskar, who has been appointed the head coach of Delhi.

Gursharan, who played one Test (against New Zealand at Auckland) and ODI (against Australia Hamilton), both in 1990, represented Delhi and Punjab in first-class cricket. He was captain of the Punjab team when it won the Ranji Trophy, the only time in 1993 at Ludhiana.

Gursharan’s first stint as a coach was with Punjab in 2007-08 when it had lost some of its good players to the Indian Cricket League (ICL). He was given the task of coaching Assam the next season. “The team performed fairly well. We had a memorable win too (against Vidarbha) when we shot them out for 97 in the second innings to win the match after conceding the first-innings lead,” recalled Gursharan, who had a career of 104 first-class matches from 1981 to 1995.

Last season, the Board had entrusted Gursharan the responsibility of handling the Arunachal Pradesh team. “It was a different challenge. Arunachal was making its first-class debut and the focus was on learning, right from the basics. There was no pressure to win and I never put the players through any needless over-expectations. I always looked to promote the youngsters, in Punjab and Assam,” added Gursharan.

Gursharan insisted: "As a coach I look to improve the players' overall approach. I sometimes reprimand a young batsman who keeps throwing away his wicket in the 30s and 40s but my philosophy is to make them feel comfortable and understand the strong points of their game.”

On his forthcoming assignment with Uttarakhand, the 56-year-old Gursharan said: “I am excited to take my new job. I know Uttarakhand has a lot of young talent and the team did well last year under Bhaskar’s guidance. The team has a wonderful captain in Unmukt (Chand). He has a good cricket brain and I am looking forward to work with him.”