Top 10 coaches who found India’s biggest cricket icons, featuring Kohli, Dhoni and more

While Indian cricket coaches and support staff at the national level often receive praise for guiding the team to major wins, the real beginning and journey of a cricketer begin much earlier. Behind every successful player is a coach who spotted the spark and helped them hone their skillset.

The coaches, often working without much media attention or spotlights at local grounds or academies, play a big role in producing legendary cricketers. Many of India’s finest cricketers owe their success to their childhood coaches, and during their playing careers, stay actively connected with them. 

Let's see 10 coaches who found India’s biggest cricket icons:

10. Rishabh Pant - Late Tarak Sinha

The late Tarak Sinha happens to be the childhood coach of current Indian Test vice-captain and dynamic wicket-keeper-batter, Rishabh Pant. A big name in Indian cricket coaching, Sinha dedicated his life to guiding young talent at Delhi’s iconic Sonnet Cricket Club. Apart from Pant, Sinha mentored stars like Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Nehra; however, his most emotional bond was with Pant, who often saw him as a father figure. Pant moved from Roorkee to Delhi as a child.

While his father encouraged him to play with older players, it was Sinha who brought technique and temperament to his game. The southpaw also revealed how he learnt his lofted shots without his coach's attention. He pointed out that Sinha always encouraged him to learn defense so he could easily play all the other fancy or lofted-looking shots.

"When I started playing after moving from Roorkee, I mostly played lofted shots--almost 80 per cent of the time. I did not think about playing along the ground because I used to open the innings. My father always said that playing against your age group is normal, but if you want to improve in cricket, you must compete with older players," Pant said on JioHotstar.

So, from a young age, he pushed me to participate in senior tournaments. Even when I was 10 or 11, I played in open tournaments. When I joined Tarak Sir, he used to get really angry. He had one rule-- 'You must learn defense first. If you master defence, you will master everything else.' He believed I already knew how to hit big shots, so he wanted me to learn how to defend. I used to keep an eye on him while batting. If he were watching, I would play proper defence, playing drives and textbook shots. But the moment I saw him looking away, I would go back to playing my natural attacking game," he added.